Brazil in the 19th century: an as-yet unexplored country opens itself up to the world. Friedrich Sellow was one of the first to venture in.
The move towards independence is beginning in Brazil; for the first time in centuries, Brazilian ports are opening up to foreigners. Friedrich Sellow is one of the first to set out in search of previously unknown peoples, cultures, animals and plants there. He travels across the country, often solo, with no fixed place of residence, for longer than anyone else – no other European will get to know Brazil as well as he does. He collects thousands of animal and plant specimens, captures his impressions of the journey in his journals, which have only been deciphered recently. The exceptionally gifted draftsman commits landscapes, natural objects and portraits of the indigenous population to paper with his own hand. His legacy ultimately filled over a hundred boxes. But this natural history treasure had to find its way back to Europe alone: at the age of 42, Sellow drowned in the Rio Doce after his boat ran into a rock.
Exploring Brazil places Sellow’s travels in the context of other expeditions, includes magnificent images of Brazil as it appeared at that time, and above all presents Sellow’s life and the fruits of his travels: his previously untapped journals, texts and drawings, published here for the first time.
The volume is being issued in collaboration with the Museum of Natural History in Berlin
