Abstract

GOMEZ, PALOMA NICOLAS. A Portrait of Oblivion: Representation and Recognition in Salvador Rizo Blanco's Retrato de Antonio José Cavanilles. Front. hist. [online]. 2019, vol.24, n.1, pp.74-99. ISSN 2027-4688.  https://doi.org/10.22380/20274688.524.

This article studies the Retrato del abate Antonio José Cavanilles, director del Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (1801-1804) painted by Salvador Rizo Blanco. This analysis takes a look at the painting’s fragments in order to examine its structure, components and characters. The intention is to comprehend them in the global scientific context of the Enlightenment, structured by imperial relations of power and exploitation, where botanical illustrations (visual representations) and nomenclatures (scientific conventions and commemorative practices) operate as tools to ensure nature’s classification and appropriation. Rizo’s painting is understood as a double portrait where both painter and portrayed share recognition, and as a node where different realities come together, intertwine and branch out towards the future.

Keywords : representation; portrait; botanical illustrations; botanical nomenclature.

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