How might these different translations elicit different interpretations of the engraving? What is the significance of Vespucci’s being clothed and standing while the woman representing America is largely naked and reclining? Why would Europeans choose to depict America as a woman? What does the engraving reveal about European society and values?
Europeans’ representations of Native American women tell us about European perceptions of their conquest of the Americas. However, depending on the artist, and with careful critical tools, we can also learn about the women depicted. ses allegory, a device common in Western European art — employing the female form to symbolize a country or abstract […]