Prof. Pieter Martens presents his lecture Intersections of military architecture and cartography in the Low Countries (1540-1625), from Jacob van Deventer to Pierre Le Poivre at the 38th IMCoS International Symposium on 12 October 2021 in Brussels, Belgium.
The city atlas by Jacob van Deventer (ca. 1558-1575) and the atlas by Pierre Le Poivre (ca. 1615-1624) are undoubtedly among the KBR’s most important cartographic heirlooms. Both are related, in different ways, to military architecture. In this paper the speaker will show that the practice of military architecture and engineering (which involved the construction of fortifications as well as the conduct of sieges) was indeed a major driving force behind the development of (urban) cartography in the sixteenth-century Low Countries. He will discuss the multiple connections between, on the one hand, fortification drawings and depictions of sieges, and, on the other, the earliest town plans, city views and topographical maps.
More information on the Symposium's complete programme can be found here.