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Allegory of America

mid-17th–late 17th century
Not on view
This drawing served as a model for an engraved title page in the second volume of an atlas on the Americas, Joan Blaeu’s Atlas Maior (Amsterdam, 1662). Berchem, a prolific draftsman and painter who specialized in landscapes, reconfigured the New World allegory for a Dutch context by including a detailed setting alluding to trade and religion. At the indigenous woman’s feet, another native pours out gold. A salamander and gold bars suggest the exoticism and riches associated with the Americas. Background scenes show the metal being mined, carried, and transported on a European vessel. Up in the clouds, European allegories convert natives to Christianity and battle the devil.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Allegory of America
  • Artist: Nicolaes Berchem (Dutch, Haarlem 1621/22–1683 Amsterdam)
  • Date: mid-17th–late 17th century
  • Medium: Black chalk, brush, black ink, gray wash; incised for transfer
  • Dimensions: 17 5/8 x 11 13/16 in. (44.8 x 30 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift of the Estate of James Hazen Hyde, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.208.90
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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The Resting Cows
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Two Sheep from the set of the Sheep with the Singing Shepherdess
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Three Dogs from the set of Various Animals with the Man Under the Trees
Nicolaes Berchem
Herdsmen with Cattle and Sheep in Italianate Landscape, Nicolaes Berchem Dutch, Black chalk, brush and gray wash
Herdsmen with Cattle and Sheep in Italianate Landscape
Nicolaes Berchem
mid-17th–late 17th century
Italianate Landscape with the Ruins of Brederode Castle, Nicolaes Berchem Dutch, Pen and brown ink, brown wash
Italianate Landscape with the Ruins of Brederode Castle
Nicolaes Berchem
mid-17th–late 17th century

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