POST, Frans
(b. 1612, Haarlem, d. 1680, Haarlem)

View of Frederiksstad in Paraiba, Brazil

1638
Oil on canvas, 60 x 85 cm
Private collection

Frans Post was one of the few artists in a position to study exotic animals in their natural surroundings. Between 1637 and 1644 the Haarlem painter lived in Brazil, part of which was ruled by the Dutch. He made at least 18 paintings, thereby becoming the first to capture the New World on canvas.