Kustprofielen van de Canarische Eilanden. Vis. 1778

Jan Brandes made this watercolor of the Canary Islands coast with a tuna around 1790. The image speaks to the European enlightenment and expanding Dutch trade in the Atlantic world. Brandes wasn't just rendering the islands' geography. He was cataloging the natural world, including this detailed tuna, likely for scientific study or economic exploitation. Note the cross-cultural aspects of the work. The Dutch text describes the fish, while the title references both Dutch and Spanish terms, reflecting the complex cultural landscape of the Canary Islands as a site of European contact and exchange. The tuna, depicted with scientific precision, becomes a commodity, its image circulating within networks of knowledge and commerce. Historians might examine Dutch East India Company archives, travelogues, and scientific treatises to understand the broader context of this image. This artwork reminds us that artistic representations are never neutral; they are products of specific social and institutional forces.