The Argonauts
Vincenzo Coronelli

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Gli Argonauti [The Argonauts]
Vincenzo Coronelli (1650-1718)
Gli Argonauti [The Argonauts]
Venice: c. 1695
Hand-colored engraving
13.25 x 10 inches
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Hera, Queen of Mount Olympus converses with Venus and Neptune at the edge of the sea, a lion at her feet. In the ocean beyond are sea creatures and putti blowing conch shells. Above the scene, six cherubs bear a shield decorated with a globe and sailing ship. This title page illustrates a key episode of the story of Jason and the Argonauts, a popular legend since the times of the ancient Greeks. In their quest for the Golden Fleece, Jason and his band of brave men, the Argonauts, have navigated the ocean aboard their ship the Argo, reaching the land of Colchis, where the Fleece is located. Worried about the danger they face, Hera asks Aphrodite's help in protecting them, and together they hatch a plan. This print may have been a frontispiece to one of the volumes of Coronelli's atlases, accompanied the story of the Argonauts, or it may have been part of a publication of L'Accademia Cosmografica degli Argonauti (the Cosmographical Academy of the Argonauts), a geographical society founded by Coronelli.

Vincenzo Maria Coronelli was one of the great geographers, authors and cartographic engravers of the Baroque period, a prolific writer on cartography as well as an esteemed globe maker, commissioned by royal and noble patrons. He was trained in theology and became a friar, but turned his energies increasingly to geography, producing more than 100 large and small globes, several hundred maps, geographic and cartographic publications, and seven volumes of a projected forty-five volume encyclopedia. In 1684 he founded the Accademia Cosmografica degli Argonauti in his native Venice, the first geographical society, mainly devoted to promoting his works.

Reference:

Westfall, Richard S. "Vincenzo Maria Coronelli." Catalog of the Scientific Community. Albert Van. Helden, ed. 1995. http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/Files/coroneli.html (12 August 2002).