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Cultural Exchanges and Colonial Legacies in Latin America

German Romanticism in Chile, 1800-1899

Miguel Angel Gaete

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Hardback

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English
Cambria Press
18 December 2023
Winner of the Klaus Heyne Award for Research in German Romanticism
*Includes 47 images

In the nineteenth century, a cluster of German Romantic artists and naturalists including Johann Moritz Rugendas, Carl Alexander Simon, Otto Grashof, Theodor Ohlsen, Eduard Poeppig, and Rudolph Amandus Philippi, embarked on different journeys to Chile, a newly liberated country characterized by untamed landscapes, overwhelming nature, and an important diversity of people. This study is the first scholarly attempt to critically explore the unfolding of German Romanticism in Chile, delving into the motivations and experiences of these six explorers as they ventured across the sea, the Andes, the secluded jungles of southern Chile, and the Atacama Desert to portray the country's people, landscapes, and nature.

This book challenges conventional interpretations of German Romanticism as a purely emotional and spiritualized crusade, arguing for a more nuanced understanding that takes into account the complexities of this cultural movement in a foreign setting, offering a critical analysis of its impact on the depiction of Chile within the broader program of Western modernity imposed outside of Europe. The central argument of this book is that the activities and depictions of these artists and naturalists, far from being mere artistic pursuits, expressed a desire for expansion in multiple dimensions-spatial, economic, cultural, and scientific-ultimately driven by a mighty colonial impulse. Thus, in their quest for exploration and artistic inspiration, they projected their anxieties, obsessions, and hegemonic ideas about race, class, Europeanness, indigeneity, territorial appropriation, and nature, reflecting their own cultural and personal agendas.

By examining the impact of German Romanticism on the depiction of Chile and the convergence of scientism, Romanticism, and colonialism, this publication seeks to shed new light on the intricate cultural exchanges between Germany and Latin America during a century consumed by ideas of progress, evolution, and the systematic categorization of nature, offering a new perspective on this subject matter.

Cultural Exchanges and Colonial Legacies in Latin America: German Romanticism in Chile, 1800-1899 serves as a first introduction to this unfathomed topic, standing as a significant and essential reference for individuals engaged in academic research, students, and general readers intrigued by art history, visual culture, colonialism, Romanticism, and Latin American studies.

This book is in the Cambria Latin American Literatures and Cultures Series headed by Román de la Campa, the Edwin B. and Lenore R. Williams Professor Emeritus of Romance Languages at the University of Pennsylvania.
By:  
Imprint:   Cambria Press
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 229mm,  Width: 152mm,  Spine: 18mm
Weight:   562g
ISBN:   9781621966791
ISBN 10:   1621966798
Pages:   296
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Miguel Gaete is a social art historian. He holds a PhD in History of Art from the University of York, UK, and a PhD in Philosophy from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. Dr. Gaete's expertise lies in European Romanticism, specifically exploring the interplay of sciences, race, and colonialism in visual depictions of Latin America. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious scholarships and grants, including those from ANID Chile, the Paul Mellon Centre, the German History Society, the Association for Art History, and Gerda Henkel Stiftung. Dr. Gaete also received the Klaus Heyne Award 2023 for Research in German Romanticism Studies from Goethe-Universität Frankfurt.

Reviews for Cultural Exchanges and Colonial Legacies in Latin America: German Romanticism in Chile, 1800-1899

""This is an eye-opening contribution to the study of German Romanticism. It draws attention to the ways in which Romantic ideas and ideals, scientific endeavours, Eurocentric perspectives and colonial ambitions intersect in and inform the paintings, drawings and sketches of Chile discussed. The book opens new perspectives on German nineteenth-century art and the colonial issues pertaining to the Romantic project."" -Mechthild Fend, Professor of History of Art, Goethe University Frankfurt


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