To the bottom right is the privilege dated 1515, with the arms of Johannes Stabius in the lower left. The borders also bear the arms of and dedication to the work's patron, Cardinal Matthaus Lang, Archbishop of Salzburg.

No extant examples of the map survive from the sixteenth century. The blocks for the map (together with thirteen other blocks by 

) from which these impressions were taken, were discovered at Castle Ambras in the Tyrol and the former Jesuit College in Graz around 1780. Due to their rarity, it was decided to publish a limited edition in 1781. Joseph Elden von Kurzbeck, a well-known publisher, was approached to fund the project, with editing carried out by Johann Adam von Bartsch, a noted scholar and artist in the employ of the Royal Court Library in Vienna.

Martin Behaim's globe of 1492 is currently in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (inv. no. WI1826).

This map by Dürer features a Ptolemaic world-view, with Europe and East Asia appearing on the extreme left and right of the map. The cartography acknowledges the circumnavigation of Africa, which was most likely taken from Martin Behaim’s globe of 1492. Known as the 'Erdapfel' (potato), it was the first-known representation of the Earth as a free-standing, three-dimensional sphere. The work was well known to both Johannes Stabius and Dürer, as it was housed in the Nuremberg Rathaus until 1531.

Comparing the map with Behaim's globe, it is clear that Dürer carefully chose a perspective that maximized the display of known land masses. Shading is applied at the top and bottom of the map where the graticule narrows, and intentional visual distortion at the edges of the globe increases the illusion of a 360-degree sphere. The placement of the twelve winds add a sense of movement, which intensifies the three-dimensional aspects of Dürer's rendering. Unlike the presentation of earlier, flat Ptolemaic planispheres, Dürer’s representational strategy animates the surface of the globe while its projection imbues it with a new sense of volume.

 'spherical' map of the world on two joined sheets.

This large and dynamic map was created by 

 in collaboration with Johannes Stabius, court astronomer to Maximillian I (ruled 1486–1508), as a companion to a set of star charts. Although it is not signed by Dürer, it is clearly executed by his hand and was most likely inspired by Martin Behaim’s globe of 1492 in the Nuremberg Rathaus. 

The map itself is significant because it is the first known printed illustration of the Earth as a three-dimensional sphere; gridlines and shading on the globe achieve this effect. The Earth's sphere is surrounded by wonderfully detailed windheads, each unique and full of energy.

Although not signed by Dürer, this map is most certainly the work of the artist, produced in collaboration with Johannes Stabius. The pair had previously worked the first printed charts of the Heavens, which also bear the date 1515; this map was likely intended as a companion.

There is no known surviving copy of this map from the sixteenth century; however, the original woodblocks were discovered in Austria around 1780, and due to their importance, a limited second edition was published in 1781.

’s groundbreaking world map, the first known printed map to show the earth as a sphere.


Dürer's World Map as a Sphere