THE CERRO RICO OF POTOSÍ IN ITS FIRST ENGRAVING

Potosí. Leiden. Circa 1728.

Colored engraving—measuring 28.5 x 35 cm—with the title printed below and at the bottom of the page, a contemporary handwritten legend in German, translated in a free version: “Potosí in the Spanish Andes, the region of Carcas (Charcas?). Peru, famous for the silver wealth of its mountains” (1), and a paper watermark in the lower left margin. The image was part of Pieter Van der Aa's celebrated Atlas, titled “La galerie agréable du monde” [Leiden, 1728 (?)], the most complete atlas to date, with 66 volumes—the last three dedicated to the Americas—and an edition of only one hundred copies.

The Cerro Rico of Potosí, with its silver veins, became one of the most strategically valuable points for Spain in its overseas territories, represented here with a castle on its summit. At its foot grew a vast city, more important at the time than Madrid or Paris. In the foreground of the image are other unusual details: a windmill—with a cross-section showing its operation with Spaniards and slaves inside—and next to it, a cart driven by Black slaves and preceded by a line of Afro-descendants with their headdresses and lances; further to the right, a palm tree… Of course, the prominent presence of slaves from Africa is inaccurate; no structure was ever built on the summit of that mountain, and the windmills were merely the invention of the European artist.

Alfredo Bueno Jiménez alluded to the works of the Dutch geographer, engraver, and publisher—among them the jewel of the 18th-century Enlightenment, *La galerie agreadable du monde*—to assert that Pieter van der Aa accentuated that fantastical imagery of America. His view of Potosí, with all its fantastical elements, was reproduced in other versions; by the mid-19th century, it was still a key reference for illustrating volumes dedicated to South America.

Note:

1. We thank Víctor Stober for the translation of the manuscript text.

S.O.52-GLMM