Title page of a chapter from the Historical Atlas, published by Henri Abraham Châtelain in 1719 - 20 in Amsterdam.
Copperplate hand colored in watercolor , 42 x 26 cm in light passe-partout.
Signed and dated on the plate l.d. "B.Picart inv. et facit" (invenit et facit - invented and made) 1720"
Under the composition, author's description in French.
Atlas Historique, ou Nouvelle Introduction à l'Histoire, à la Chronologie & à la
Géographie Ancienne & Moderne was an exceptional publication in terms of content and richness of illustrations.The maps including illustrations designed "in plano" were printed from 285 copperplate engravings.
The maps were engraved by Henri Abraham Châtelain, mainly based on the works of French cartographer Guillaume de L'Isle. Illustrations according to his own ideas were engraved by Bernard Picart, and the French-language texts accompanying the illustrations dealt with such fields as cosmography, geography, history, genealogy, heraldry, biblical history,etc.
Henri Abraham Châtelain (1684 - 1743) was a Huguenot pastor. He lived successively in Paris, St. Martins, London (c. 1710), The Hague (c. 1721) and Amsterdam (c. 1728).Châtelain was a talented artist who was able to combine a wealth of historical and geographical information with delicate engraving and uncomplicated composition. Groundbreaking for its time, the work included studies in geography, history, ethnology, heraldry and cosmography. His maps with elegant engravings are a fine example of the golden age of French mapmaking. The publishing company Châtelain, Châtelain Frères and Châtelain & Fils is registered in Amsterdam from about 1700 to 1770.
Bernard Picart , born on June 11, 1673 in Paris, where he lived rue Saint-Jacques , settled in Amsterdam in 1711, where he lived on Kalverstraat and where he died on May 8, 1733. He was a designer and engraver.
Trained by his father Étienne Picart (1632-1721), known as Roman, and by Benoît Audran le Vieux , and later by Sébastien Leclerc in 1689, he first resided in the Netherlands between 1696 and 1698. a brilliant achievement, a reputation as an engraver and designer. Equally adept with the chisel and the pick , he made a number of fine subjects in which he skillfully combined the two processes and in which the fertility of invention and dexterity of his hand were admired.
He enjoyed a well-deserved reputation when his father chose Amsterdam for his residence . The booksellers of that city hastened to take advantage of his talents; but the multitude of works he was commissioned to do prevented him from the diligence that the former deserved. They demanded of him cold and polished works: Bernard adopted this way to satisfy the public's tastes; and his productions were affected only too much. He made a lot of money, but at the expense of his reputation; and even in his lifetime he saw connoisseurs paying attention only to his early works.
