Allegory of America, from "The Four Continents"
16th century (?)
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, squared in black chalk
Dimensions
9 1/4 x 12 in. (23.5 x 30.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of the Estate of James Hazen Hyde, 1959
Accession Number
59.654.6
Tags
About this artwork
This compelling allegorical drawing represents America as one of the Four Continents, a popular iconographic series created during the Age of Discovery. Designed by Maerten de Vos (1532-1603), a prominent Flemish painter from Antwerp, and executed by an anonymous Netherlandish artist, the work reflects 16th-century European perceptions of the New World. The drawing employs pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, squared in black chalk for transfer to an engraving. Created when Antwerp domin...
Art Historical Context
This intricate drawing, *Allegory of America* from the popular "Four Continents" series, captures 16th-century Europe's fascination with the newly discovered Americas. Designed by the renowned Flemish painter Maerten de Vos (1532–1603) from Antwerp—a bustling hub of commerce and the Atlantic sugar trade—it portrays America as a symbolic female figure, likely surrounded by exotic animals, bows and arrows, and axes, evoking indigenous peoples and untamed wilderness. Executed by an anonymous Netherlandish artist, the work blends imagination with emerging global awareness during the Age of Discove...