In 1636 the artist Frans Post (1612-1680) travelled to Brazil, then a Dutch colony, under the patronage of Governor Johan Maurits of Nassau. 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.
Curator: Niamh MacNally, National Gallery of Ireland.
For more information: https://www.nationalgallery.ie/curious-creatures-frans-post-and-brazil
