Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-447-3
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Created in 1736 by the French artist Marie Michelle Blondel, *L'Afrique* is a print that reflects the 18th-century European fascination with representing the continents through allegorical imagery. Blondel, active during the mid-1700s, worked at a time when prints served as accessible vehicles for sharing artistic and cultural ideas across social classes. Though the exact medium remains unspecified, its classification as a print highlights the importance of printmaking in disseminating visual knowledge during the Enlightenment. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, this work was acqu...