Maps, an Obsession of Place
I first fell in love with these maps in the Hall of Maps in the Vatican, Italy. The client wanted to feature maps of the places he's lived and loved, featuring local spots and homes with trompe-l'oeil cartouches to give historical descriptions of certain sites. This is a beautiful and personal way to document the places we love. This Shelter Island dining room depicts all the areas my client loved: Manhattan, Shelter Island, Little Rams Island, and the U.K., all of which now surround him in his dining room.
Long Island...
The cartouche in this map of Manhattan is surrounded by American Indians and a brief history of the island. A larger cartouche usually gives a history of the land, but anything can be included.
A trompe l'oeil drawing of the house is pinned to the map. Other possibilities include close-ups of a neighborhood, school, portrait or verse.
Oh, to be with this map. It was painted for a yacht that cruises the Mediterranean.
Stylistically we can work as kitsch as a 50's beach vacation postcard or as detailed as a map found in the Vatican.
