Bizon 1735 - 1859

This image depicts a bison and was made by an anonymous artist. The image speaks to the cultural encounter between Europe and North America. Consider the politics of imagery at play here. How does the artist, likely European, depict this animal so foreign to their own environment? The bison stands starkly against a somewhat romanticized landscape, seemingly observed and documented for a European audience eager for knowledge of the New World. The engraving medium itself is significant, chosen for its reproducibility, allowing the image to circulate widely. The very act of naming and categorizing the bison speaks to a scientific impulse, an attempt to understand and control the natural world. To fully appreciate this work, one might delve into the travelogues and scientific texts of the period. This image reflects how Europe saw and sought to define America through the lens of its own cultural and scientific institutions.