Allegory of the Cartographer

This engraving from 1640 by Jacob Neefs, after a design by Philip Fruytiers, was produced as an illustration for Disciplinae mathematicae by the Jesuit scholar Joannes Ciermans. It was intended as an instructional vignette reflecting the Jesuit emphasis on applied mathematical studies. The image shows two putti intently examining a map laid before them. With gestures of concentration and inquiry, the figures evoke the intellectual labor of chart-making, an art rooted in mathematics, observation, and the expanding geographical knowledge of the 17th century.