gwranda: World Map Drawn in a Fool’s Head Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris “This image is one of the enigmas of cartographic history. The artist, date and place of publication are all unknown. The geography of the map strongly resembles that of the world maps of Ortelius published in the 1580s, giving a tentative date of c.1590. Its central visual metaphor is the universality of human folly and various mottoes around the map reinforce that theme.” ~ Peter Whitfield, The Image of the World: 20 Centuries of World Maps .

gwranda:

World Map Drawn in a Fool’s Head

Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

“This image is one of the enigmas of cartographic history. The artist, date and place of publication are all unknown. The geography of the map strongly resembles that of the world maps of Ortelius published in the 1580s, giving a tentative date of c.1590. Its central visual metaphor is the universality of human folly and various mottoes around the map reinforce that theme.”

~ Peter Whitfield, The Image of the World: 20 Centuries of World Maps

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