Regional maps, or 'Augenscheinkarten' (maps depicting the landscape as seen by the human eye), are a European phenomenon that has recently gained more attention in historiographical research. [1] The monograph Lies of the Land continues this development by explicitly examining map production in France in the 16th century. The author, Camille Serchuk, who has already published a volume on French regional maps [2] and curated an exhibition on the topic [3], convincingly argues that map production in France underwent a distinctive development during this period. Map makers were mostly painters who regarded map painting as an important source of income and career stage. Maps were considered a medium that was located between image and document.

While French sources are limited due to the destruction of the cartographical archive in the Château de Moulins in a fire in 1755, Serchuk stresses the importance of archives in France and elsewhere in Europe for historical research, as they contain a lot of as yet unstudied material. Serchuk vividly introduces the reader to the workshops of French map manufacturers; she first explains regional maps, then describes maps of other countries, and finally explains the medium of wall-mounted maps in the Galerie de Cerfs at the Palace of Fontainebleau.

Regional maps were created based on eyewitness accounts and were therefore regarded as documents that were informed by multiple sources. Serchuk succeeds in making these regional maps comprehensible as historical sources, while also conveying their art historical value. She demonstrates that mapmaking was part of the painter's everyday work, which could significantly advance his career (22), and was also well paid. The absence of regulations or formal conventions regarding the design of regional maps gave painters considerable freedom, which was only restricted when maps were used as evidence in contentious court cases. The truthfulness of what a map depicted was achieved by different painting styles. Occasionally, map painters worked with land surveyors, although the latter's measurements were not used to produce eyewitness evidence. This is exemplified by the map of the Forest of Thelle, which was commissioned for a case heard by the Parlement de Paris, the highest court in France, to settle a dispute concerning the forest's use. The map's painter completed several sketches, which were put together to form an overall picture. The addition of ornamentation and colour, as well as graphic details, gave the painter the opportunity to develop a special pictorial language and to demonstrate his skills. Serchuk also brings intriguing aesthetic connections between stained glass and map production to the reader's attention, which add an entirely new angle to the interpretation of the material.

A total of thirty-seven copies of French maps or atlases of the 'new world' from this period have survived. Nine of these maps from the period between 1542 and 1556 are particularly richly decorated and probably served as luxury gifts for high nobility or the king. They all show a vision of the world that manifested a French claim on it. To this end, the painters made use of a wide variety of sources and media, such as illustrations of flora and fauna, but also travel reports and books of hours as well as prints, to employ the visual rhetoric of the eyewitness. The maps were produced in Dieppe and were thus able to draw on the rich tradition of book illumination in the area. They were painted on white vellum to emphasize the representative character of the maps, and were primarily used for entertainment. Models for this type of map were Portuguese and Spanish maps. The eyewitness accounts on which the maps were created were often fictitious, because the painters had rarely been on site, although there were exceptions. Crucially, the maps asserted France's claim to this newly discovered world and at the same time served to encourage the king to finance transatlantic expeditions.

The third chapter describes the maps of the Gallery of Cerfs, which was probably created by Louis Poissin between 1604 and 1608 and, as Serchuk can conclusively prove, was intended for the exclusive use of Henry IV and selected contemporaries. The body of material, which has been largely neglected by recent scholarship, shows, in particular, the exchange between cartography and art. The maps are attached to three of the Gallery's walls and show forests that were reserved for the king and high nobility to hunt red deer, and the associated hunting lodges. A cartouche contains additional information on the size of the respective forests. Cameos and deer antlers are attached to the underside. On the basis of many extremely interesting texts, the author is able to prove that although numerous international visitors visited the gallery and the adjacent garden, they were unable to interpret the meaning of its iconographic material and later restorations further obscured its meaning. The author develops the convincing hypothesis that Henry IV, a map-maker in his own right, intended to use this gallery to commemorate his passion for hunting and map painting. Interestingly, with the exception of Italy, map galleries with hunting references are a phenomenon limited to France.

In the concluding part of the book, Serchuk describes the end of map production by painters. She convincingly argues that the transformation of the painter's role away from a dedication to documentation and toward an increasing focus on aspects of invention, creation and originality made painting unsuitable for map production. The increasing use of maps for military purposes also played a role in this shift from painted to printed maps.

This beautifully illustrated book reveals 'la voie particulière ' of French cartography in the 16th century in admirable ways. By integrating maps created in different modes of production, it provides an exemplary reference framework for further studies on maps and their production across various media and diverse locations throughout Europe.

Notes:

[1] See for example Evelien Timpener: In Augenschein genommen. Hessische Lokal- und Regionalkartographie in Text und Bilde (1500-1575), Berlin / Boston 2022.

[2] Juliette Dumasy-Rabineau / Camille Serchuk / Emannuelle Vagnon (éds.): Pour une Historie des cartes locales en Europe au Moyen Âge et à la Renaissance, Paris / New York 2022.

[3] Juliette Dumasy-Rabineau / Nadine Gastaldi / Camille Serchuk (éds.): Quand les artistes dessinaient les cartes. Vues et figures de l'espace français Moyen Âge et Renaissance, Paris 2019.

Anette Baumann