According to a known projection lithography method an object is imaged on an imaging surface by means of a telescopic system of rotationally symmetrical electron lenses. The throughput during the production of integrated circuits by means of projection lithography is determined by the amount of current in the imaging electron beam; this current is limited by the resolution-limiting interaction of the electrons (Coulomb interaction). The invention allows for a larger beam current in that areas with a high current concentration are avoided. To this end, the imaging system includes five mutually perpendicular quadrupoles, so that the electrons are concentrated in line-shaped focal spots instead of a (small) circular cross-over. The system is telescopic and the imaging is stigmatic with equal magnifications in the x-z plane and the y-z plane.