A historical and iconographic analysis of Charles Landseer’s Brazilian paintings

Abstract

This article presents a detailed examination of the two surviving Brazilian-themed paintings of Charles Landseer, the British artist who travelled to Brazil in 1825–26 as part of a diplomatic mission. His drawings in the Highcliffe Album are well-known, but the paintings are less familiar, and there has been a lack of art historical analyses of them within the broader context of the artist’s career. Furthermore, they have not been considered together before. Primary sources are used to present a new account of the paintings’ production and exhibition histories, uncovering previously overlooked information about how Landseer created the works and where he showed them in England in 1827. The article also incorporates lesser-known or previously unrecorded artworks by Landseer which relate to his Brazilian travels, including a third painting (depicting Madeira, not Brazil) which he exhibited in London in 1828, but which was only recently rediscovered. The only two known letters relating to Landseer’s involvement with the mission are transcribed in full in an appendix.