#MB48
1821
Watercolour ca. 19 x 28 cm (8 x 11.5 in.) Grey wash on paper, mounted on an album leaf with double borders ruled in ink, manuscript caption title. Overall a very good watercolour.
This early attractive well-executed watercolour by an anonymous French voyager shows an island of the Martim Vaz Archipelago with a ship's launch at sea in the foreground. "Trindade and Martim Vaz is an archipelago located about 1,200 kilometers (740 mi) east of Vitória in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, belonging to the State of Espírito Santo, Southeast Brazil. The archipelago consists of five islands and several rocks and stacks; Trindade is the largest island.
The islands are of volcanic origin and have rugged terrain. They are largely barren, except for the southern part of Trindade. They were discovered in 1502 by Portuguese explorer Estêvão da Gama and stayed Portuguese until they became part of Brazil at its independence. From 1890 to 1896, Trindade was occupied by the United Kingdom until an agreement with Brazil was reached. During the period of British occupation, Trindade was known as "South Trinidad"(Wikipedia).
