Portraits from the Age of Exploration: Selections from Andre Thevet's *Les vrais pourtraits et vies des hommes illustres* - Hardcover

Thevet, Andre; Schlesinger, Roger; Benson, Edward

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0252019431 ISBN 13: 9780252019432

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 1992

Synopsis

One of the most ambitious works of Renaissance biography, Andre Thevet's two-volume Vrais pourtraits gave Europeans unique insights into the New World. Portraits from the age of Exploration - each biography chosen for its interest to modern readers - is the first translation of Thevet's work into English and the first to feature reproductions of the original copper-engraved portraits of each subject.
The selections, twelve chapters from Thevet's original work, describe the exploits of six famous European explorers and six Native American chiefs. The explorers are Columbus, Magellan, Cortes, Pizarro, Albuquerque, and Vespucci; the chiefs are Montezuma, Atahualpa, Nacol-absou (King of the Promontory of the Cannibals), Paracoussi Satoriona (King of the Platte), and Quoniambec. The biographies of Native Americans represented a first in European literature. Thevet's information came from written and oral sources, from his own experience as a colonist in Brazil, and from other eyewitness accounts.
Roger Schlesinger's annotations and introduction link Thevet's work to the body of sixteenth-century exploration literature, and Edward Benson's translation negotiates Thevet's verbal flourishes with skill. The book provides a unique insight into the European mentality of the Age of Exploration. It will be of interest to historians, anthropologists, geographers, those specializing in foreign languages, and readers who enjoy biographies.

About this title

About the Author:

Edward Benson is a professor and chair of modern languages at Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg.

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0252019431
• ISBN 13: 9780252019432
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 159