Granada - Espanha
Brooklyn Museum, Nova York, Estados Unidos
OST - 38x50 - 1843
Columbus before the Queen was the third of at least six
treatments of the Christopher Columbus theme undertaken by Emanuel Leutze.
Portrayed as a hero, the Italian explorer commands the center of the
composition as he boldly addresses the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella,
seen here on the left. With their backing, Columbus crossed the Atlantic four
times between 1492 and 1503. His first voyage marked the beginning of Spanish
colonization of the Americas, which brought a new language, a new monotheistic
religion, and an obsession with racial purity to the region.
In this scene, Columbus is appearing before Isabella after they
had replaced him as governor after one of the new Spanish colonies revolted.
When he was brought back to Spain, he was chained and appeared before the king
and queen in manacles, which can be seen at his feet. Queen Isabella was
very upset at his treatment, which is the moment Leutze has chosen to show in
this painting.
During his third trip to America, Columbus was arrested, by
mistake, on the order of the Spanish king and queen. Here we see him upon his
return to Spain, defiantly displaying the absurdity of his manacles to the
visibly embarrassed queen.
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