Ferrara - Bodenehr 1720

📜 Description
Engraved bird’s-eye view depicting the fortified city of Ferrara, published in Augsburg by Gabriel Bodenehr around 1720 as part of the series Curioses Staats und Kriegs Theatrum. The composition represents the Este city through a cartographic and topographical layout consistent with early eighteenth-century German print production, with particular attention devoted to defensive structures, the urban network, and the principal civic and religious buildings. The graphic composition stands out for its descriptive clarity and topographical precision: the city is enclosed within an articulated bastioned fortification system crossed by the Po River and accompanied by a detailed legend identifying the main architectural landmarks. The engraved line, sharp and analytical, provides an orderly reading of the urban space, balancing documentary function with visual elegance. The detached fortified citadel further emphasizes Ferrara’s strategic and military importance within the geopolitical context of early modern Europe. A representative example of eighteenth-century German cartographic and vedutistic production, the engraving belongs to the tradition of military and descriptive city views, constituting a significant testimony to the representation of fortified European cities during the Baroque period.

📚 Historical-Artistic Note
Gabriel Bodenehr belonged to a family of publishers and engravers active in Augsburg between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, renowned for producing illustrated collections dedicated to cities, fortresses, military theatres, and topographical views. The work belongs to the Curioses Staats und Kriegs Theatrum, an iconographic repertory conceived to document the principal European urban centres and defensive architectures. Publications of this kind, intended for a cultivated audience interested in political geography and military matters, testify to the central role of urban representation within the cartographic culture of early modern Europe.

🧾 Technical Details
Type: Bird’s-eye city view
Author: Gabriel Bodenehr
Engraver(s): Gabriel Bodenehr
Publisher: Gabriel Bodenehr
Place: Augsburg
Date: ca. 1720
Material: Paper
Technique: Etching
Decoration: Fortified urban view with descriptive legend
Dimensions:
Sheet: 19.5 × 29 cm
Plate: 15 × 27 cm
Notes: From Curioses Staats und Kriegs Theatrum (...)

🔍 Condition Report
Sheet in excellent overall condition. No significant defects noted. The engraved surface remains well inked and clearly legible. Minor age-related traces consistent with the period. Blank verso.