Atlas Coelestius: seu Harmonia Macrocosmica

Old coloured title page of Andreas Cellarius' star atlas Harmonia Macrocosmica Seu Atlas Universalis Et Novus first published by J. Janssonius in 1660. This title page is from the reissue by Valk and Schenk in 1708.

The woman depicted in the centre is Urania, the muse of astronomy. To the left the Dane Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) can be seen, holding dividers against a celestial globe. On the right side the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) pointing to an armillary sphere. In the back on the left, Claudius Ptolemy is holding a book, probably his Geographia. On the far back to the right, the Dane Johan Philip Lansberge (1561-1632) can be seen and next to him on the left, the Castilian King Alfonso el Sabio (Alfonso X, called the Wise, 1221-1284). The person behind Urania can not be named with certainty, it might be the Islamic astronomer al-Battani (850-929), but also Julius Schiller (1580-1627) may be a candidate.

The drawing of this beautiful title sheet was executed by Frederik Hendrik van den Hooven (signatur: F. H. v. Hoven fec.) also known as van den Hove. Most likely he was also responsible for the engraving itself.

Andreas Cellarius was an astronomer, mathematician and cosmographer, born in Neuhausen near Worms. In 1614 he studied at the University of Heidelberg and got married in Amsterdam in 1625. From 1637 onward he served as rector of the Latin school in Hoorn. In 1660 he published his outstanding star atlas, the Harmonia Macrocosmica with Johannes Janssonius in Amsterdam. The star atlas is considered as one of the most spectacular work of art in the history of astronomy and consists of 29 double page copper-engraved plates. The atlas is also known as the Cellarius-Atlas and was reissued by Valk & Schenk in 1708.

In 2008 the minor planet 12618 Cellarius was named after Andreas Cellarius.

If you like to download the image of this map with a resolution of 1200 pixels, please follow the link below.

You can use this image for publication on your personal or commercial websites for free if you set a link to this website. If you need photographs with a higher resolution, please contact us.

Title Pages - Cellarius, Andreas - Atlas Coelestius: seu Harmonia Macrocosmica