Where can I see View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil?

View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil?

View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil?

Museum-quality prints of View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil

Frans Post , 1637

View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Frans Post. It dates from 1637 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting shows the island of Itamaracá off the northeastern coast of Brazil, a landscape that combines natural scenery with figures and objects that signal European presence. The composition includes black and white inhabitants, a horse, a tree, and references to the Dutch West India Company, all placed within a topographical view of the island. Together these elements convey the colonial context of the Dutch settlement in Brazil and reflect the patronage of John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, who commissioned the work.

Technique & Style

The piece was commissioned by John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, establishing its context within the Dutch colonial presence in Brazil.

Frans Post executed View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil in 1637 using oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work is a landscape painting, characterized by its depiction of natural elements such as trees alongside human figures and animals. It measures 63.5 centimeters in height and 88.5 centimeters in width.

The piece was commissioned by John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, establishing its context within the Dutch colonial presence in Brazil.

History & Provenance

View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil was painted by Frans Post in 1637, commissioned by John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, during his governorship of Dutch Brazil. The oil on canvas measures 63.5 × 88.5 cm and depicts the island of Itamaracá with a mix of European and local figures. The work was later owned by Eugène Stanislas Oudinot before entering the Mauritshuis in The Hague, where it is displayed in room 8. No specific exhibition history beyond its current installation is documented in the available sources.

Context

Frans Post's 1637 oil on canvas, View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil, exemplifies the Dutch fascination with Brazilian scenery and was painted during his time in the Dutch colony of Brazil. The work was commissioned by John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, and is now displayed at the Mauritshuis. It is regarded as a key document of early European representations of Brazil, notable for its inclusion of both European and African figures and its role in shaping the landscape genre within the Dutch Golden Age.

Overview

View on Tamaracá Island, Brazil is an oil painting created by Frans Post in 1637. This work exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age artist's landscape tradition, notably as he was the first European painter to extensively document the natural environment and inhabitants of the Americas. The canvas offers a tranquil depiction of a Brazilian setting, capturing a specific moment in the colonial history of the region.