£1,800
POSSIBLE DARWIN INTEREST: AN OIL ON CANVAS PAINTING OF A GENTLEMAN BESIDES A MAP LABELLED 'DEL FUEGO',
The seated gentleman is depicted in fine dress holding a propelling pencil, with his left arm resting on a map. The map is partially unfolded to reveal the words 'America' and 'El Fuego', which can be assumed to refer to 'Tierra Del Fuego', an Archipelago off South America. Mounted in a large gilt wood frame.
Tierra Del Fuego was first discovered by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan while sailing for the Spanish Crown in 1520.
On his first voyage with HMS Beagle in 1830, Robert FitzRoy picked up four native Fuegians, including "Jemmy Button" (Orundellico) and Yokcushlu, and brought them to England. The three who survived the voyage were taken to London to meet the king and queen and were, for a time, celebrities. They returned to Tierra del Fuego in the Beagle with FitzRoy and Charles Darwin, who made extensive notes about his visit to the islands.
The gentleman could indeed be a cartographer, and it is not implausible to suggest that he may have been on HMS Beagle, or have had some involvement with the 1830's exploration of Tierra Del Fuego.
87cm x 67cm
Framed 102cm x 90cm
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