Europae - Abraham Ortelius, 1572. (Map In Color)
This map gives you a 16th century picture of Europe on one print. The coastlines, tiny towns and ships sit on a warm parchment style background, so it works well next to books, wood and brass in a study, office or living room.
To learn more about the history of these pieces and how we craft them in our family workshop, feel free to read our full guide to antique map prints.
About this map print
This print is based on Europae, Abraham Ortelius’s map of Europe from his atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, first issued in the fifteen seventies and often called the first modern atlas. Ortelius built this map from earlier work by other cartographers, especially Mercator’s large wall map of Europe and Olaus Magnus’s map of Scandinavia, then redrew everything in a single clear style for his book. The sheet shows Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, with Britain, the Scandinavian peninsula, the Italian and Iberian peninsulas and the Baltic coast all carefully outlined and labeled in Latin.
In the history of mapping, Europae is often described as the first truly modern map of Europe, replacing older medieval style views with a more accurate Renaissance outline. Ortelius used similar coastlines and place names in his world map Typus Orbis Terrarum and in regional maps like Romani Imperii Imago.
If you are curious about the history behind this piece, we put together a short background on this map for you to read.
Craft & finishEvery replica we make is individually hand-processed in our family workshop. We finish the paper with a traditional beeswax seal to give it a warm, heavy texture. Our team also adds subtle gold paint details by hand to help the artwork truly shine. To complete the look, we hand-burn the edges to give each piece the feel of a true historical artifact.
While our smaller sizes are perfect for gallery walls, our 43x61 cm Large replica is a museum-scale centerpiece. Because of the size, the hand-processing and beeswax application take much longer. This extra time and care ensures that every centimeter of the historic illustration is preserved with a rich, authentic glow.
Find more prints like this in our Antique Maps collection.
Europae (Abraham Ortelius, 1572.) - Antique Europe Map
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At Artifex Historical Replicas, we bridge the gap between museum archives and your home. Each piece is a handcrafted historical art print recreated from authentic primary sources, including antique city views and botanical illustrations.
Hand-Processed Paper: We use specialized paper with burned edges and a beeswax finish to replicate the weight and feel of genuine old parchment.
Gilded Details: Our workshop adds subtle real gold accents, bringing the same glow to your walls found in 16th-century illuminated manuscripts.
Custom Sizes & Worldwide Shipping: We offer bespoke sizing for custom frames and ship our historical replicas globally from our family workshop.
Explore our full guide on how we create, display, and restore parchment-style replicas.
