Brazilian Representation in 1648

Summary

The print, whose title can be shortened to “Historia naturalis Brasiliae” depicts a scene in Brazil during the mid-1600s. In the work, there is an indigenous Brazilian man and woman holding branches and wearing traditional attire on their heads. Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, sits between them holding a vase containing various fish and seafood. Behind these people is a forest filled with various animals, flowers, and fruit. In the background of the print, there is a group of indigenous people dancing in front of a house. There are also several sections of text within the artwork in Latin that describe the content. The print is in black-and-white and the art style is incredibly detailed and realistic.

Author

The creators of this print are Louis Elzevir and Franciscus Hackius. Louis Elzevir was a printer that lived from 1604 to 1670. Franciscus Hackius was also a printer and was active from 1638 to 1664 and his lifespan is unknown. There is little background information on these printers but their origin is assumed to be European as they included multiple references to European mythology in their work and the text was written in Latin.

The artists portrayed Brazil in a positive, yet incredibly stereotypical fashion. The setting is incredibly detailed and vibrant, creating a positive representation of Brazil that focuses on nature and beauty. However, the print is very stereotypical for the period and uses indigenous people as a centerpiece rather than depicting them as human beings. While the people in the work are not shown as violent or over-sexualized, they are used as objects to represent the “exoticness” of Brazil. They are incredibly dehumanized and there is no appreciation of their culture with only the flora and fauna being shown in a positive way.

Connection to History

This print is closely connected to the historical period it was created in. During this time, Portugal has colonized Brazil and was using it for sugar plantations. However, the land was sparsely populated and was less economically prosperous than the colonized land of Spanish America. Nature became an important part of the relationship between Portugal and Brazil as the colonizer sought to exploit the land for economic gains. There was also an exploitation of the indigenous people in Brazil and a fetishization of their differences to Europeans in terms of culture, religion, language, and skin color. This destructive and detestable relationship between Brazil and Portugal is depicted in this print as nature is shown in a positive and beautiful manner, while the indigenous people are used as caricatures.

Works Cited

Elzevir, Louis, Printer, and Franciscus Hackius. Historia naturalis Brasiliae, auspicio et beneficio beneficio illustriss. I. Mauriti Com. Nassau illius provinciae et maris summi praefecti adornata in qua non tantum plantae et animalia, sed et indigenarum morbi, ingenia et mores describuntur et iconibus supra quingentas illustrantur. Brazil, 1648. Lugdun. Batavorum: Apud Franciscum Hackium, et Amstelodami, apud Lud. Elzevirium. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2018652272/.