Cartography is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing images on paper as prints or illustrations; these images are also called "engravings". Engraving is one of the oldest and most important techniques in printmaking. Wood engravings, a form of relief printing and stone engravings, such as petroglyphs, are not covered in this article.
Jacques Nicolas Bellin was a French hydrographer, geographer, and member of the French intellectual group called the philosophes.
Jean Le Pautre or Lepautre was a French designer and engraver, the elder brother of the architect Antoine Le Pautre, the father of the engravers Pierre Le Pautre and Jacques Le Pautre, and the uncle of the sculptor Pierre Lepautre. Jean Le Pautre was an apprentice to a carpenter and builder. In addition to learning mechanical and constructive work, he developed considerable skill with the pencil.
The Description de l'Égypte was a series of publications, appearing first in 1809 and continuing until the final volume appeared in 1829, which aimed to comprehensively catalog all known aspects of ancient and modern Egypt as well as its natural history. It is the collaborative work of about 160 civilian scholars and scientists, known popularly as the savants, who accompanied Bonaparte's expedition to Egypt in 1798 to 1801 as part of the French Revolutionary Wars, as well as about 2000 artists and technicians, including 400 engravers, who would later compile it into a full work. At the time of its publication, it was the largest known published work in the world.
Jean-Baptiste Pillement was a French painter and designer, known for his exquisite and delicate landscapes, but whose importance lies primarily in the engravings done after his drawings, and their influence in spreading the Rococo style and particularly the taste for chinoiserie throughout Europe.
Pauline Auzou was a French painter and art instructor, who exhibited at the Paris Salon and was commissioned to make paintings of Napoleon and his wife Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma.
A cartouche is an oval or oblong design with a slightly convex surface, typically edged with ornamental scrollwork. It is used to hold a painted or low-relief design. Since the early 16th century, the cartouche is a scrolling frame device, derived originally from Italian cartuccia. Such cartouches are characteristically stretched, pierced and scrolling.
Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species. They are generally meant to be scientifically descriptive about subjects depicted and are often found printed alongside a botanical description in books, magazines, and other media. Some are sold as artworks. Often composed by a botanical illustrator in consultation with a scientific author, their creation requires an understanding of plant morphology and access to specimens and references.
Robert Morden was an English bookseller, publisher, and mapmaker, globemaker and engraver. He was among the first successful commercial map makers.
François Chauveau was a French artist, known as a burin engraver, draftsmen and painter.
Claes Janszoon Visscher was a Dutch Golden Age draughtsman, engraver, mapmaker, and publisher. He was the founder of the successful Visscher family mapmaking business. The firm that he established in Amsterdam would be passed down his generations until it was sold to Peter Schenk.
The illustration of manuscript books was well established in ancient times, and the tradition of the illuminated manuscript thrived in the West until the invention of printing. Other parts of the world had comparable traditions, such as the Persian miniature. Modern book illustration comes from the 15th-century woodcut illustrations that were fairly rapidly included in early printed books, and later block books. Other techniques such as engraving, etching, lithography and various kinds of colour printing were to expand the possibilities and were exploited by such masters as Daumier, Doré or Gavarni.
The Prix Blumenthal was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) – and the foundation she created, Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal – to discover young French artists, aid them financially, and in the process draw the United States and France closer together through the arts.
Gilles Filleau des Billettes was a scholar, member of the Académie des Sciences who corresponded with Leibniz. His personal copy of one of Leibniz's mathematical papers was rediscovered in 1956.
Anaïs Toudouze was a French fashion plate illustrator, born in Ukraine. She was born to a painter and lithographer, Alexandre-Marie Colin and his wife, who was also a painter.
Élisabeth Haussard was a French scientific illustrator and engraver.
Marie-Anne Rousselet, also known as Marie-Anne Tardieu, Veuve Tardieu, (1732–1826) was a French engraver and illustrator.
Léon Gaucherel was a French painter and etcher.
Germain Brice (1653–1727) was a French author, best known for his book Description de la ville de Paris et de tout ce qu'elle contient de plus remarquable . The work, which was published in several editions and continually expanded, was first published in 1684. In some of the later editions the addition Nouvelle was used in the title. This book was the most popular travel guide on the city of Paris in the 17th and 18th century.
