The Image of Europe
Visualizing Europe in Cartography and Iconography throughout the Ages

A richly illustrated study of visual representations of Europe, from the classical world to the present day.

Michael Wintle (Author)

9780521886345, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 September 2009

560 pages, 147 b/w illus. 33 colour illus. 11 maps
25.2 x 19.8 x 3.8 cm, 1.67 kg

'The Image of Europe is that rarest of achievements, a conceptually ambitious, profoundly learned book, written with admirable clarity of expression and a pleasing lightness of touch.' Imago Mundi

This book is a major study of visual representations of Europe, from the classical world to the present day, in maps, icons, the arts and graphic images of all kinds. Europe has been variously represented as the demi-goddess Europa, a bull, a horse, a son of Noah, a Magus, a queen, and the Empress of the World. This richly illustrated book charts how these visualizations of the continent have altered over time; how they interact with changing ideas of the extent and nature of Europe in relation to the other continents; and how these images have influenced and been influenced by the 'reality' of Europe. Spanning the ages from the Ancient Greeks to the European Union, this history of three millennia of Europe and its representations is an important contribution to ongoing debates about the nature of European identity.

1. The identity of Europe and the image of Europe: concepts, theory, methods
2. A changing concept of Europe
3. The ancient world, and the myth of Europa and the Bull
4. The Middle Ages
5. The Renaissance
6. Civilization and empire in the age of enlightenment: the long eighteenth century
7. The age of nationalism and new imperialism
8. Changing visual representations of Europe in the twentieth century
9. General conclusion.

Subject Areas: Historical geography [HBTP], European history [HBJD], Theory of art [ABA]