The Beauty of Maps

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Steven Clarke

Harry Bell

The Beauty of Maps: Episode 3: Atlas Maps - Thinking Big

Documentaries

Atlas Maps - Thinking Big

Episode 3

Episode 3: Atlas Maps - Thinking Big

BBC Four - The Beauty of Maps, Atlas Maps - Thinking Big

A look at some of the largest and most elaborate maps ever produced.

Documentary series. A look at some of the largest and most elaborate maps ever produced, including the largest atlas in the world, The Klencke Atlas.

Documentary series charting the visual appeal and historical meaning of maps.

The Dutch Golden Age saw map-making reach a fever pitch of creative and commercial ambition. This was the era of the first ever atlases - elaborate, lavish and beautiful. This was the great age of discovery and marked an unprecedented opportunity for mapmakers, who sought to record and categorise the newly acquired knowledge of the world. Rising above the many mapmakers in this period was Gerard Mercator, inventor of the Mercator projection, who changed mapmaking forever when he published his collection of world maps in 1598 and coined the term 'atlas'.   
 
The programme looks at some of the largest and most elaborate maps ever produced, from the vast maps on the floor of the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, to the 24-volume atlas covering just the Netherlands, to the largest atlas in the world, The Klencke Atlas. It was made for Charles II to mark his restoration in 1660. But whilst being one of the British Library's most important items, it is also one of its most fragile, so hardly ever opened. This is a unique opportunity to see inside this enormous and lavish work, and see the world through the eyes of a king.

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BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

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Documentary series showing how maps can be appreciated as art in their own right.

Documentary series looking at maps in incredible detail to highlight their artistic attributions and reveal the stories that they tell

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The Beauty of Maps

Episode 3: Atlas Maps - Thinking Big

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