A Closer Look

Following the widespread success of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, artist Franz Hogenberg and publisher Georg Braun sought to create a companion atlas focusing on cities. With support from Abraham Ortelius, Braun and Hogenberg began their collaborative venture, inviting foreign city officials and prominent mapmakers to submit maps for inclusion. A team of over 100 artists, engravers, and colorists contributed to the project, producing over 500 maps. The resulting atlas, Civitates Orbis Terrarum, (‘the cities of the world’), was published between 1587 and 1617 and garnered immediate success as the most comprehensive publication of international cities.