Allegory of America, from "The Four Continents"

Art Historical Context

Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection, where *Allegory of America, "The Four Continents (1580–1600) captivates with its vivid Renaissance imagery. Created by Flemish artist Maerten de Vos, who designed the composition, and master engraver Adriaen Collaert, this second-state engraving measures 8 3/8 x 10 1/16 inches. It personifies America as a dynamic female nude, surrounded by symbolic elements like fierce animals, battle scenes, and a bow and arrow—evoking the European imagination of the New World as a wild, untamed frontier during the Age of Exploration. This artwork reflects late 16th-century Northern European fascination with global discovery. Personifications of the continents were a popular allegorical trope, blending mythology, exoticism, and emerging colonial perspectives. De Vos's Mannerist style infuses the scene with elegant yet dramatic figures, while Collaert's precise engraving technique—using incised metal plates inked and pressed onto paper—allowed for intricate details and widespread dissemination of such grand designs. As a gift from the Estate of James Hazen Hyde in 1959, this print highlights the era's artistic collaboration and printmaking's role in shaping cultural narratives. Gaze closely at the clipped edges and fine lines to appreciate how it bridged art and ideology, inviting us to reflect on history's layered views of the world.