3-098-980 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Unicorn and Other Animals, 1660. One of The Four Parts of the World series. The Four Parts of the World, that is, the then-known continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, was a theme that achieved great popularity, as it was entirely in line with the scientific interests of the time. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that these paintings were commissioned to form part of the so-called cabinets of curiosities (Wunderkammer), which were fashionable among collectors at the time. What seems undeniable is their connection to the cosmographies of the 16th century, that is, descriptions of cities, inhabitants, animals, and plants arranged by continent. This series consisted of four panels, each of which, in turn, comprised a central panel with the personification of the corresponding continent surrounded by sixteen smaller panels depicting views of the most important cities, represented in the background and behind a foreground occupied by animals of all the species presumed to be native to the continent in question. The complete series is first documented in the collection of Charles IV (1748-1819), in the Casita del Príncipe (Prince's Cottage). It had to be dismantled and dispersed after leaving Spain in the luggage of Joseph Bonaparte.