Map of Tendre
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Map of Tendre (Carte du Tendre) was a French map of an imaginary country called Tendre produced by several hands (including Catherine de Rambouillet). It appeared as an engraving (attributed to François Chauveau) in the first part of Madeleine de Scudéry's 1654-61 novel Clélie. It shows a geography entirely based around the theme of love according to the Précieuses of that era: the river of Inclination flows past the villages of "Billet Doux" (Love Letter), "Petits Soins" (Little Trinkets) and so forth.
The map features, in the form of villages and roads, in this topographical and allegorical representation, the different stages of life and love along the lines of the Précieuses of that era. The map details the distractions and pitfalls—depicted as town and landmarks—that lovers encounter along their journey from New Friendship (the town at the bottom center of the map) to intimacy.
Trivia
- La Carte du Tendre was used in the opening credits of Louis Malle's Les Amants[1]
See also