In 1636 the artist Frans Post (1612 – 1680) travelled to Brazil under the patronage of Governor Johan Maurits of Nassau. At this time, a large area of north-eastern Brazil was a Dutch colony. Post spent seven years drawing the exotic flora and fauna of Brazil. The country continued to inspire him when he returned to the Netherlands in 1644. Recently discovered at the Noord-Hollands Archief in Haarlem, 34 coloured drawings of exotic animals will be complemented by the National Gallery of Ireland’s magnificent, Brazilian Landscape with a Sugar Mill by Post, which depicts a Dutch sugar plantation with alligators, armadillos, anteaters and a monkey in the foreground. Other key works will be shown, including Post’s View of Olinda, Brazil (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), and Sugar Mill (Atlas Van Stolk, Rotterdam). The exhibition will provide a rare opportunity to view a remarkable group of drawings by a Dutch seventeenth-century artist together with some of his important painted Brazilian views.
The opening of the exhibition was a well-attended and stylish affair.
Photos: Kieran Harnett
Curator: Niamh MacNally, National Gallery of Ireland
The exhibition is kindly supported by the Friends of the National Gallery of Ireland