The Catalan Atlas
Abraham Cresques (attributed), Majorca, 1375
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 8 x 10 in, Wrong shape: a 49% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyMade on Majorca in 1375, most likely by the Jewish master Abraham Cresques, the Catalan Atlas is the loveliest map the medieval world produced — a blaze of gold, ultramarine, and vermilion. Camel caravans cross the Sahara toward Mansa Musa of Mali, enthroned with a golden nugget as the richest man on Earth; galleys ply the seas; one of the earliest compass roses spreads its rays across the water. Where sacred maps looked to heaven, this one looked out along the trade routes of a connected world.
- Maker
- Abraham Cresques (attributed), Majorca
- Date
- 1375
- Medium of the original
- Plate
- Original held by
- Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
- Credit
- Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
- Rights
- Public domain, verified
- Catalogue number
- PA-00319
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 8 x 10 in | Wrong shape: a 49% crop |
| 8 x 12 in | Wrong shape: a 39% crop |
| 11 x 14 in | Wrong shape: a 48% crop |
| 12 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 45% crop |
| 12 x 18 in | Wrong shape: a 39% crop |
| 16 x 20 in | Wrong shape: a 49% crop |
| 16 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 39% crop |
| 18 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 45% crop |
| 20 x 30 in | Wrong shape: a 39% crop |
| 24 x 30 in | Wrong shape: a 49% crop |
| 24 x 36 in | Wrong shape: a 39% crop |
| 30 x 40 in | Wrong shape: a 45% crop |
| 36 x 48 in | Wrong shape: a 45% crop |
| 40 x 60 in | Wrong shape: a 39% crop |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 6,451 x 15,770 px, srgb, sRGB IEC61966-2.1
- Tone
- Darks 124, lights 229 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 1.19
- Notes
- Neutrals lean warm (yellow): the paper and varnish of the original, kept as scanned
Cartographer’s Dream
The world, as the great mapmakers dreamed it.
All 52 pieces from Cartographer’s Dream
