The sublime forest in Rugendas' oil paintings

The work of German artist Johan Moritz Rugendas is extremely rich in content that is best understood when analyzed in the light of his culture. In this study we present the decisive factors that led the artist to choose the Brazilian rainforest as the theme for his oil paintings. We seek to demonstrate that the choice of this theme as well as the way he painted it is directly related to issues that often find their meaning in the cradle of German culture.