Battista Agnese

Battista Agnese is one of the most admired producers of beautiful portolan atlases, although little is known about his life. He worked in Venice, where he most likely operated a studio. His atlases contained nautical and geographical information and were decorated with finely hand-drawn illustrations of allegorical figures, compass roses, rhumb lines, and geographical features, often highlighted in gold. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was among Agnese’s patrons. With the support of his studio, at least one hundred atlases are known to have been produced by Agnese throughout his career. The Harisse Codex atlas is in the Sunderland Collection.