This lovely and rare plan is one of the largest 17th-century views of Jerusalem, and was designed to show pilgrims and other travelers the sacred sights of the city. Despite the fact that the city was under Muslim rule at the time, the view presents a Christian perspective for its European audience, with some of the Muslim sites changed into Christian ones, or depicted with European architecture. For example, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is presented as Le Tiemple ou se presanta la Ste. Vierge, a reference to a church built by Justinian in the 6th century, and the tomb of Absalom is remade to resemble contemporary Italian architecture. As is typical of plans of Jerusalem from this period, the Jewish presence in the city is essentially omitted.

Boisseau based his view on the work of Franciscan monk Antonio de Angelis, who had spent eight years in Jerusalem and published his plan of the city in 1578. The plan centers the fortified city and extends to show the surrounding countryside, including Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, the Judean Hills, and the Tombs of the Kings. 29 sacred sites are listed in the lettered and numbered key at right, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Temple of Solomon, the Church of the Ascension, the tomb of the Virgin Mary, the palace of the Latin Patriarch, the Latin Hospital, and the site where John the Baptist was beheaded. Some of the Stations of the Cross are identified, including the house of Pontius Pilate and the Ecce Homo arch, where Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd before the crucifixion. As on De Angelis's map, the Muslim compounds of Temple Mount are transformed into Christian sites. Even with De Angelis's firsthand experience, the topography around the Fontaine de Siloe (Siloam Pool) is fictitious. The Palais d'Anne (Church of St. Anne), a church built by the Crusaders near St. Stephen's Gate in the Muslim Quarter, is inaccurately placed in the Jewish Quarter. Boisseau first published his view in 1639; this is the second state with Boisseau's imprint and the date added at bottom left. Printed on two sheets, joined as issued.

References: Brauman (IMCOS #166) pp. 23-39; Laor #961.

Condition: A

A nice impression on bright sheets with a coat of arms watermark, a faint stain adjacent to the Temple of Solomon, and marginal soiling. A tear confined to the bottom margin has been professionally repaired, and creases in the left margin have been pressed flat.