Artistic and historical interpretation of Pierre Mortier's Map of Ancient Lucca: a baroque map of the city of Lucca

The work represents a detailed map of the city of Lucca (Lucques or Luca), carefully crafted to show the urban layout along with its significant architectural elements, walls, and surrounding waterways. The map provides a clear view of the urban fabric with streets, squares, and important buildings, evoking a sense of order and structure. The atmosphere conveyed is that of a well-fortified historic city, set within a natural space defined by the waterways, combining practical utility with the refined aesthetic characteristic of the Baroque period.

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Style
The work is placed within the context of the late Baroque period, a time when cartography was regarded as a refined art, combining science and decoration. Pierre Mortier applies copper engraving techniques, enhancing precision and detail in a style influenced both by the Dutch cartographic tradition, renowned for its accuracy, and by the Baroque taste for ornamentation and compositional harmony. The piece reflects the legacy of Ortelius' atlas and typical elements of Baroque cartography, emphasizing a balance between geographical functionality and visual expression.

Color and lighting
The plate features hand coloring that uses warm and earthy tones, with predominance of ochre, greenish, and brown shades, which give a natural and slightly antiquated atmosphere typical of maps from that period. The contrasts between urban and natural areas help clearly define boundaries and architectural details. Light is suggested through contrast in the engraved details, creating a visual effect that highlights reliefs and structures, guiding the viewer’s eye toward points of interest such as the walls and main squares.

Spatial management
Depth and perspective are handled with a plan view typical of urban maps of the time, allowing a balanced distribution of elements. Linear perspective is not used; instead, a bird’s-eye view allows for a clear organization of the urban fabric and surrounding natural features, avoiding overlaps and ensuring a harmonious and functional reading of the city.

Composition and framing
The composition focuses on the city of Lucca, placed centrally on the plate, with particular attention to fortified elements and main streets. The chosen framing serves to offer an overall view that combines clarity with richness of detail. The harmony of the scene arises from the balance between detailed urban parts and natural or decorative spaces, while iconographic and calligraphic elements enrich without overwhelming the overall vision.

Technique and materials
The map was created using copper engraving, a technique that allows achieving high levels of precision and refinement in detail. The support is hand-colored paper, customary for prints of that period, with natural pigments providing a pleasant and lasting chromatic effect. The engraving, combined with careful coloring, results in a visual outcome that merges sharpness and a sophisticated aesthetic balance, enhancing both the functional and decorative aspects.

The Map of Ancient Lucca unites geographical accuracy with the refined Baroque aesthetic, representing the city in a way that narrates its urban structure and historical context, while simultaneously expressing a harmonious balance between cartographic precision and artistic value.