Curatorial notes
This map of Mantua was created in 1702 by an anonymous artist. The visual experience is dominated by a structured composition. We see a landscape with a fortification, rendered in precise lines and gentle colours. The layout is carefully organized, dividing the scene into distinct areas, each labelled, and offering a semiotic system of signs that communicate detailed information about the city's geography. Here, the map functions as a text; the elements like colour, shape, and line work together to challenge fixed meanings, presenting a subjective interpretation of space. Note the formal quality of cartography—how this map's structure reflects broader cultural and philosophical concerns. Maps are not neutral representations; they are constructions of power, influencing perceptions of space and control. As such, its artistic merit lies in the convergence of form and function, embodying the era's intellectual landscape.