Atlas by Fernando Vicente

Every Monday, we are sharing the maps that make us dream, think and travel. And remember that you can do the same on Twitter using the hashtag #MondayMaps.

This week, we introduce to you the work of Fernando Vicente. This Spanish illustrator and painter transforms the geographic contours of countries into human and animal forms. He turns, scrutinizes the maps, and discovers strong mental images he wants to express. Thanks to him, we can appreciate these beautiful living creatures, often representative of the country they are superposing.

I didn’t manage to choose only one map from all his paintings (they are all fascinating!), so I decided to put forward his representation of Atlas, the Greek titan condemned to carry the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. It is a way to announce the whole series of maps of the artist, that he named “Atlas”.

To see more examples of his zoomorphic artography, see his blog. And make sure to check the rest of his work on his website.

Enjoy the maps and discover a new world beyond the classical representations that you can have.

Maéva

Gallo

Fernando Vicente has extended his talent to digital cartography with Google Earth. Even if I prefer his paintings, I found it very surprising and fascinating! To see his artography in 3D, download this file and open it with the Google Earth software. It's really impressive!