Artwork

Ansichten aus den vier Weltteilen mit Szenen von Tieren: Cartagena (Kolumbien)

Ansichten aus den vier Weltteilen mit Szenen von Tieren: Cartagena (Kolumbien) is an unspecified painting by Ferdinand van Kessel the Elder. It dates from 1682 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

About this work

Overview

Ferdinand van Kessel the Elder, a Flemish painter active in the late 17th century, produced the canvas titled *Ansichten aus den vier Weltteilen mit Szenen von Tieren: Cartagena (Kolumbien)* around 1682. The work belongs to the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s holdings and presents a visual record of the Caribbean port city of Cartagena, accompanied by a variety of animal figures.

Subject & Meaning

The composition juxtaposes a panoramic view of Cartagena’s harbor and urban landscape with a selection of fauna, reflecting the artist’s interest in exotic subjects. By integrating animals—often rendered with a playful, almost allegorical quality—the painting suggests a curiosity about the natural world that accompanied European encounters with the New World.

Technique & Style

Executed in the Baroque idiom, the painting combines detailed landscape rendering with the lively still‑life tradition for which van Kessel was known. The brushwork conveys atmospheric depth in the sky and water, while the animal figures are treated with fine modeling, highlighting the artist’s skill in texture and colour modulation.

History & Provenance

Created circa 1682, the canvas entered the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s collection during the 19th‑century expansion of its European paintings department. Documentation traces its acquisition to the museum’s efforts to assemble representative works of Flemish Baroque art, where it remains on display as part of the institution’s permanent holdings.

Context

Van Kessel’s oeuvre frequently incorporated monkeys and other creatures within domestic and exotic settings, a motif popular among Flemish patrons fascinated by far‑off lands. This work aligns with that trend, offering a visual narrative that merges European artistic conventions with the allure of a distant colonial port.