Ostium Flumines Paraybae (1671) This large copper engraving shows the entrance to the Paraiba river in Brazil with a nice view of Castle Margareta on the Brazilian coast. The busy scene is filled with fishermen, shepherds and merchants loading their wagons. In the late 1630s, Holland attempted to reassert its claim over Brazil by establishing a series of forts along the coastline. One of the best-documented colonies was the expedition led by Prince Maurits of Nassau, who attempted to assemble an intellectual court in the New World. He brought with him a group of highly accomplished artists, mapmakers, and scientists to record the mysteries of Brazil. They included the celebrated painter Frans Post, and the astronomer George Markgraf, who produced the first serious study of the southern sky. Post painted a wealth of images of the Brazilian landscape and the surrounding vegetation and wildlife. His works are some of the earliest European paintings of Brazil and were eagerly reproduced in print by Dutch engravers. This print is from Arnoldus Montanus’ Die Nieuwe en onbekende Weereld, published in Amsterdam, 1671. Image 28,5x35cm, page 38,5x46,5cm