“Hemisphaerii Borealis Coli et Terrae Sphaeri Casceno Graphia”, copper engraving made by Andreas Cellarius as part of his Atlas Coelestis seu Harmonia Macrocosmica [Celestial Atlas or The Harmony of the Macrocosm] published by Johannes Janssonius (a.k.a. Jan Jansson) in 1660. Coloured by a later (?) hand. Size: 43,5 x 50,5 cm.
Little is known about the creator of the most beautiful celestial atlas ever published. The only thing we know for certain is that Andreas Cellarius came from the Palatinate region in Germany and that when his celestial atlas with twenty-nine charts was published, he was the headmaster of the Latin school in Hoorn in Holland, earning a salary of 200 guilders per year. Beyond this, his life remains a mystery, although there are indications that he may have previously created an atlas of Poland.
The Atlas Coelestis contains charts of the so-called Ptolemaic universe, the Copernican system, and Tycho Brahe’s compromise between the two systems.
Here, Cellarius illustrates the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere, depicted above an image of the globe, roughly centered on present-day Alaska.
The chart provides a beautiful view of the stars, as if seen from a deeper point in space, so that each of the constellations is facing the opposite direction from how they would be seen from Earth. This projection reflects a theory developed by Petrus Plancius, which proposed that the stars remained in a spherical configuration above the Earth, moving in coordination with the Earth. Thanks to the perfect engraving technique, there is no significant spatial distortion; the skillfully shaded and coloured figures appear to float in the sky above the Earth.
In the clouds, we see putti, some carrying banners with the names of the chart, others holding measuring instruments. At the bottom, we see astronomers and their students; they are studying, discussing, and handling various astronomical instruments.
Cellarius himself was not an astronomer, and his work has more decorative than practical astronomical significance. The atlas lacks a system that would allow an astronomer with a telescope to locate a star. Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens was dissatisfied with Cellarius’ work. The moon of Saturn he had discovered, Titan, was omitted, and some engravings contain spelling errors and perspective distortions.
The beautiful engravings were sold separately and often bound by collectors into a single volume with the atlas pages of Joan Blaeu. In this form, but also as separate celestial atlases, they found their way around the world. Thus, the Cellarius atlas can be found in the libraries of the Vatican and the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
This part of the northern sky depicted here reminds us of the existence of numerous now-forgotten constellations. In later descriptions, these were omitted, merged, or given different names. Cellarius and his publisher worked on a second part of the celestial atlas, but it was never completed due to Janssonius‘ death in 1664. The first (and thus only) part was reissued by Pieter Schenk and Gerard Valck in 1708.
Cellarius’ charts are the most sought after of celestial charts, blending the striking imagery of the golden age of Dutch cartography with contemporary scientific knowledge. If fact, they represent the high point of not just Dutch celestial maps, but all artistic renditions of the celestial skies.
Price: Euro 3.950,-
