Heinrich Keller (cartographer, 1778)

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Keller's plan of the city of Zurich from 1824
Demolition of the Neumarkt Gate in July 1827.

Heinrich Keller (born October 11, 1778 in Zurich ; † September 18, 1862 ibid) was a Zurich etcher , lithographer , panoramic draftsman and cartographer .

Life

Keller came from a simple family from Zurich, his father was a baker. At the age of eight he suffered a complicated fractured thigh while falling down a staircase, which was difficult to heal and which forced him to stay in bed for long periods of time. Later he had to walk on crutches for several years.

During his long recovery, Keller discovered his delight in maps and began to copy them. Reasonably healthy again, he worked for Lavater's Physiognomik with little success , and later he drew landscapes. After 1797 he started his apprenticeship with the painter and art dealer Johann Heinrich Füssli (1755–1829) in Zurich and worked there until 1815. In 1799 he had drawn a map for a travel guide, later similar works followed. A map of the Canton of Zurich was published in 1827, and a wall map of Switzerland in 1830. Keller was also funded by Hans Conrad Escher from Linth, among others .

As one of the first draftsmen, Keller designed panoramic views, which earned him great recognition. Despite his handicap, he climbed the Albis , Rigi and Üetliberg . In 1817 he separated from Füssli and from then on ran his own publishing house in his house on Untere Fences 23.

In addition to maps of Swiss localities for school lessons, Keller drew so-called “zone paintings” in which he tried to capture different regions of the world with residents, animals and products. The first Swiss school maps (1823), school wall maps (1830) and the oldest Swiss school atlas (1842) come from Keller.

Zurich map

Keller drew the Zurich map in 1824 and reissued it in 1828 with various changes. His «Grundriss der Stadt Zürich» reproduces the image of Zurich shortly before industrialization began after 1830. The entrenchments built in the 17th century , which were supposed to protect the city against enemies, are striking . At the place of today's Bahnhofstrasse still runs the Fröschengraben , which shows the course of the earlier city fortifications. The plan is supplemented by two cards; one shows the confluence of the Sihl into the Limmat , the other an overview of Zurich.

As a curiosity, the sizes of other famous buildings are drawn on the plan on the same scale, for example the Waterloo Bridge in London or the Palace of Versailles , which are roughly the same length and would extend from Bürkliplatz to Paradeplatz .

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Keller, Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Keller, Hans Heinrich; Keller, Heinrich IV.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss panoramic draftsman and cartographer
DATE OF BIRTH October 11, 1778
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH September 18, 1862
Place of death Zurich