Witnessing the great explorations through engraving

Among the great movements related to the Renaissance, it is difficult not to mention the great explorers who will have made it possible to better map the world. These personalities, mostly from the Iberian Peninsula, changed the vision of geography and made it exciting. Indeed, the public heard snippets of these voyages and was desperate to know more.

Add to this the invention of mass printing and it is a whole sector that will teem with activity from the end of the 15th and early 16th century. Publishers would seek to publish the notes, letters, and other writings of Magellan, Columbus, Vespucci, and Calvin to name a few.

While for a time it was all text-based, it would gain popularity with engravings. Particularly the 600 creations of Theodore de Bry, which can be found in a 29-volume collection on the great known voyages. Thus, the public will be able to imagine the first encounters with native nations, among others.

However, the works of Theodore de Bry remain a product of their time with the approximations and biases of its author. The latter, a fervent Protestant, will show contacts between Huguenot explorers and First Nations as cordial while those featuring Catholics will be depicted with barbarism. Moreover, these engravings will perpetuate the ideas of cannibal peoples or giants in Patagonia for centuries. Nonetheless, the modern Internet user can view them for free through digitization and on Bodmer Lab's website.

Length: 30min30

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