Kaart van de Franse zuidkust bij Montpellier, 1726 1726

This is an anonymous map of the French southern coast near Montpellier, created in 1726. Executed with fine lines and a stark contrast between the paper and ink, the map presents us with a formal arrangement of geographical elements. The visual structure is dominated by the stark lines defining the coast and waterways. The cartographer’s precision creates a tension between representation and abstraction. Note the intricate compass rose, its radial symmetry anchoring the composition, a semiotic assertion of control over the represented space. Consider how the map functions not merely as a practical tool, but also as an assertion of power and a reflection of early 18th-century attitudes towards space and knowledge. The ordering of space is a visual coding of power relations. This tension between objective representation and subjective interpretation invites us to consider how maps, like art, construct and mediate our understanding of the world.