Representation of nature and natives in the diary of Prince Adalbert of Prussia

• Grant number: 23/12649-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts
• Principal Investigator: Letícia Coelho Squeff
• Grantee: Julia Doine Silva
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The intention of this research is to analyze the representation of nature in the landscapes painted by Prince Adalbert of Prussia, which depart from the tradition of European romantic painting and, at the same time, seek a veristic apprehension of the scenes. The intention is to investigate the album plates that accompany the book Brasil: Amazonas-Xingu by Adalbert of Prussia. Adalbert (1811 - 1873), Prince of Prussia, arrived in Rio de Janeiro on September 5th, 1842, and spent five months in Brazil, during which time he visited Rio de Janeiro, Paraíba do Sul, Amazon, Xingu, as well as Pará, Pernambuco, Bahia and São Luís do Maranhão. During his travels, he made several drawings that were later reproduced in an album with forty-five prints, mostly landscapes, but also containing some genre scenes. The book Brasil: Amazonas-Xingu, published in 1847, is the prince's travel diary through Brazil. How does the artist show the relationship between man and nature, and how are tradition and romantic sentiment used to represent indigenous people and nature? To this end, the research proposes, among other steps, a comparative analysis of the images created by Adalberto with creations by naturalists such as Wied-Neuwied, Langsdorff, Spix and Martius, among others.