Neger u. Negerin aus Bahia.

Title

Neger u. Negerin aus Bahia.

Description

Very decorative image of two natives from Bahia in Brazil. From "Das Merkwuerdigste aus der malerischen Reise in Brasilien von Moritz Rugendas". Johann Moritz Rugendas was active in Germany (Augsburg, Weilheim, Württemberg) from 1802 to 1858. He was a blessed painter and illustrator, went to Brazil at the age of 19 and drew impressions for Heinrich von Langsdorf's Brazil expedition. In 1825 he returned to Europe, met Alexander von Humboldt in Paris, became close friends with him and was inspired by Humboldt to travel to South America again. Rugendas drew landscapes and people, their customs and daily life.

ca. 1816

Artist

Brodtmann (1787-1862)

Karl Joseph/Ioseph Brodtmann was an accomplished Swiss artist and lithographer, as well as a printmaker, publisher and bookseller who worked in Zurich and Schaffhausen. Brodtmann's natural history lithographs include Heinrich Rudolf Schinz's works on reptiles and birds, published in the early 1830s. Brodtmann also produced natural history lithographs, as Naturhistorische Bilder Gallerie aus dem Thierreiche.

Historical Description

Bahia in Brazil: The indigenous population of Brazil comprises a multitude of different ethnic groups who inhabited the area of what is now Brazil even before the Portuguese conquered it in 1500. Brazil is the country with the most uncontacted tribes in the world. As early as 1494, Portugal and Spain decided to divide South America in the Treaty of Tordesillas. Because the line had been agreed in ignorance of the coastline of the New World, the eastern tip of South America (still generally unknown at the time) also belonged to Portugal's territory. The prerequisite for legitimate occupation was the consistent catholization of the locals. The period from 1500 to 1530 was characterized by bartering with the locals.