Cellarius' Hæmisphærii Borealis coeli et terræ sphærica scenographia is an imagined view from distant space through the constellations of the Northern celestial hemisphere to Earth's northern hemisphere. It shows the North Pole, northern Asia, and parts of North America and Europe. This classical Aristotelian view placed the stars on a transparent sphere that rotated around Earth, the planets and the sun.

Cellarius's star chart is a visual explanation of the motions of the spheres; of longitude; and, of the influence of the stars. At the lower left, a man, possibly Galileo, holds a compass and a celestial globe. To his left, another figure, possibly Copernicus, studies a book while another to his right, perhaps Ptolemy, observes the discourse.

This is an exquisite work of art that comprehensively expressed the state of scientific knowledge of the heavens. Our Perfect Recreation™ of this spectacular image transports to the 21st century this perfect example of the marriage of art and science that characterizes the Art of Discovery.

About Andreas Cellarius

Andreas Cellarius produced the most elaborately beautiful celestial atlas of the 17th century, the Atlas Coelestis seu Harmonia Macrocosmica. This startlingly gorgeous and imaginative work presented powerful visual explanations of the theories of Ptolemy, Copernicus and Brahe as well as ingenious star charts and lunar diagrams.

Cellarius was born in Germany in 1596; he lived and worked in Holland from 1625 until his death in 1665, a period coinciding with the Golden Age of Dutch map-making and engraving.

Simultaneous with with the era's geographic and scientific discoveries, the art of graphically representing and disseminating these new ideas via engraving and printing was perfected.

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