As fronteiras do mundo conhecido: representações da América e Ártemis nos século XVI e XVII

Abstract

The representation of the continents as women during the 16th and early 17th centuries is considerably disseminated on maps, frontispieces, emblem books, tapestries and porcelain. Each woman is adorned and surrounded by characteristic elements that make its recognition possible. Asia, for example, is usually accompanied by a camel, carries spices and wears richly decorated garments. These attributes are sought in different image repertoires such as the Judeo-Christian tradition, travel accounts and Greco-Roman mythology. The recovery of classical antiquity myths in the artistic production of this period is recurrently addressed. Given some similarities between the personifications of America and the goddess of hunting, Artemis, such as the presence of bow and arrows, the hypothesis emerged that these images were related in the Renaissance context. Idea based on the notion presented by Jean-Pierre Vernant that Artemis was a deity located on the margins between civilization and barbarism, a position shared by America, a continent that was on the edge of the world known to Europeans. The aim of this article is to identify the possible links between America and Artemis based on the analysis of productions from the 16th and 17th centuries.