La morphologie de la ligne de flux. Une nouvelle variable visuelle issue du système de Cartes figuratives de Minard

Abstract

Charles-Joseph Minard’s (1781–1870) work, whose contributions to the mapping of flows and “transportation movements” have historically been acclaimed, are still regularly evoked and even anthologized by people more interested in the image than the methodology. By examining the realization of his “System of figurative maps” we present the fundamental contributions of Minard on cartographic semiology, revealing their theoretical and methodological anchoring. Analysis of the perceived form of the line on flow map leads us to introduce a new visual variable: the line morphology.

Keywords

• cartography
• flow
• movement
• “carte figurative”
• line
• morphology