Tassin's map of Richelieu

The Tassin map of the Ville Idéale

Christophe Tassin (* early 17th century in France; † 1660 in France), also known as Nicolas Tassin, Christophe Nicolas Tassin or Christophe Le Tassin, was a French cartographer who worked in a series of atlases regions in France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. He seems to have published most of his first prints in Paris from 1633 to 1635. His publishers included Melchior Tavernier (1594–1665), Sébastien Cramoisy (1584–1669) and Michael van Lochum (1601–1647). Almost nothing has survived from his closer circumstances.

Tassin's Cartouche of the Cité

The cartouche by Tassin on a 28" square wall panel

While the Abbé Henri-Armand Proust lies in winter cold in the cemetery outside the walls of the cité idéale, he seems nonetheless to be keeping abreast with the latest in information technology and home decor.

He scanned his new copy of the Tassin plan of the town (engraved in 1630) in high definition (1200 pixels/inch) and used Photoshop to clean up around the cartouche. The original cartouche graphic itself is only about two inches square.  

Then he made a dense jpg file.  He then sent this off to a company who can print digital files onto canvas and mount the result on timber stretchers. They did a grand job!

Here below the rather elegant results.

Do any of his parishoners want a similar panel for themselves? -  the Abbé can easily order more - maybe in support of the Fonds de Dotation and the imminent restoration of the so-called Tour Sainte Anne….

mail the Abbé

the canvas wall panel

Other posts on M Tassin and his engravings

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A 'baroque' cartouche by the engraver Tassin - 1630

Look at another rather similar graphic; this time a putto above the church door

Two nice prints by Tassin - 1632

The good Abbé HP, a bit short of Xmas presents for 2015, bought the second print from e-bay this morning at a 10% discount (for £54!).  Should he clinch the duchy map as well? Will his stipend stretch that far, or should he keep what little money he still has for the charity box, as Vincent de Paul recommends?

These two engravings were made while the new town was actually being constructed and Maestro Tassin clearly hadn't yet been to the new Richelieu - ville idéale -  when the image was made. Inter alia, the town plan shows the du Plessis clan's château that pre-dated the duc's castle and town.

A map of the newly created 'Duchy' of Richelieu of 1629

'Duke of Richelieu' was a title in the French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean Cardinal du Plessis, (Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a celibate clergyman, had no issue to pass it down to. The title instead passed to his great-nephew, Armand Jean de Vignerot, the 2nd duke, grandson of his elder sister Françoise (1577–1615), who had married René de Vignerot, Seigneur de Pontcourlay († 1625).

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Publication: Les Plans et Profils de toutes les principals villes et lieux considerable de France. Ensemble les cartes generals de chacune province & les particulieres de chaque government d’icelles. Par le Sieur Tassin Geographe ordinaire de la Majesté. A Paris, chez Martin Gobert, au Palais, en la Galerie des Prisonniers. M. DC. XXXIV. Avec privilege du Roy.

This engraving is from an atlas showing a total of 410 maps, bird’s eye views and panoramas of provinces and towns in early 17th century France, during the reign of Louis XIII, the Just. Tassin divided the atlas in to 17 sections, namely Picardie, Champagne, Lorraine, Bretaigne, Normandie, Isle de France, Brie, Bourgogne, Dauphine, Oranges, Provence Languedoc, Foix & Bearn, Guyenne, Poictou, Loire and Beauce, fifteen of which are Provinces, one a Principality and one a region along the river Loire.

Christopher Nicolas Tassin was active from 1633 to 1635, initially in Dijon and subsequently in Paris. He became ‘ingenieur et geographe du roi’, under the patronage of Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIII's first minister, having previously worked as a military engineer. Many of his fortification plans are ‘firsts’ which were subsequently copied/issued by Nicolas Berey and Antoine de Fer.

The sheets measure approximately 15.0 x 19.2 cm, and the actually engravings measure approx. 10.5 x 15.1 cm. The pages are single sided.

Engraver: Tassin, Christopher Nicolas,

Date: 1634

Technique: Copper plate

Uncoloured

A rare antique plan/bird's-eye view of Richelieu (Fr.).

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Merry Christmas everyone!

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