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Rijksmuseum Opens Johan Maurits & Frans Post: Two Dutchmen in Brazil

The Rijksmuseum presents Johan Maurits & Frans Post: Two Dutchmen in Brazil, on display at the Rijksmuseum from 20 September 2011 up to and including 21 November 2011.


Frans Post, Landscape by the river Senhor de Engenho, Brazil, 1670-1680. Acquired with support from the independent art fund Vereniging Rembrandt

Johan Maurits, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, also known as ‘The Brazilian’, served as governor of the Dutch possessions in Brazil from 1637 to 1644. He founded the town of Mauritsstad, commissioned the construction of a splendid palace and led the colony as an enlightened official. Artist Frans Post travelled along with the governor’s entourage, documenting not only military conquests, but also the exotic flora and fauna. His drawings served as the basis for the scientific book by Casper Barlaeus, commissioned by Johan Maurits, which to this day remains one of the most significant books about Brazil. The Rijksmuseum will exhibit 18 paintings and prints by Post and several of his contemporaries, complemented by a unique presentation of parchment manuscripts from Johan Maurits’ palace in Brazil.

www.rijksmuseum.nl

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