The exhibition develops the reciprocal influence between Europe and Brazil in the discovery, appreciation and exploitation of the Brazilian flora and fauna.
This unique interaction between the two continents, centred on the natural resources, comes in all forms of artistic expression : drawings, paintings, sculptures, artefacts, silverware, but also in the sciences, geography, cartography, ethnography, botany, zoology, medicine, which generate books, cabinets of curiosities and collections, expeditions and natural history museums in Europe as well as in Brazil.The exhibition traces 400 years of history, from the Portuguese discovery of Brazil, through the Dutch period, the German, French, Italian and Portuguese expeditions and the long colonial history up until the Brazilian Empire of the 19th century and the beginnings of the Republic.
Terra Brasilis
Terra Brasilis focuses on several areas comprising key elements. The great discoveries and expeditions with an increasingly scientific approach and plants and fruits with their various uses.The selected works come from both private collections and the National Museums of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Recife or even from European Museums such as the Louvre, the Nationalmuseet of Copenhagen and the national museums of Portugal and Belgium.
The problem of the vulnerability of this natural heritage and the sustainability of its use are of primary concern ; the exhibition and the catalogue do not evade this issue.
