The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 14, 2025
The Four Continents
1790
manufacturer
firm of Christophe Philippe Oberkampf
designer
(French, 1745–1811)
Overall: 112.1 x 81.3 cm (44 1/8 x 32 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
Marie-Antoinette visited the textile factory where this design was made.Description
Inspired by printed cottons from India, European manufacturers began printing textiles from copper plates in the 1750s. Originating in Ireland, the technique quickly spread to France where it flourished. Here, Jean-Baptiste Marie Huet I depicted female personifications of the four continents alongside their native flora and fauna. Although the artist based the plants and animals on real specimens observed at the Royal Botanical Gardens, he derived the personifications from racist stereotypes that imagined Europe as culturally superior: while Europe sits enthroned with symbols of the arts and knowledge at her feet, Africa wears an elephant headdress, America hunts an alligator, and Asia prays to a false god.- Imagination in the Age of Reason. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 28, 2024-March 2, 2025).In Pursuit of Fashion: Decorative Textiles in 18th Century France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 1, 1989-March 3, 1991).Techniques of Textile Printing. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 11, 1948-May 29, 1949).
- {{cite web|title=The Four Continents|url=false|author=Christophe Philippe Oberkampf, Jean-Baptiste Marie Hüet|year=1790|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1929.6