The Vatican might seem an unlikely place for any trace of Native American life to end up, but in mid-2013, conservationists in the Borgia Apartments discovered several native men hidden in the background of a painting by a very prominent artist. The Resurrection, completed by Italian Renaissance artist Pinturrichio in 1494, was housed in an area of the Vatican that had gone largely unoccupied for nearly 500 years. Formerly inhabited by Pope Alexander VI in the 1400s, a Spanish pope with a reputation for corruption, the Borgia Apartments contained a cycle of frescoes that recently underwent a serious conservation process. While removing a thick layer of grime on the aforementioned painting, conservationists discovered small figures in the background who looked like they could be Native Americans:
“We see nude men, decorated with feathered headdresses who appear to be dancing,”, Antonio Paolucci, Director of the Vatican Museums, said.
It is easy to see how these native figures could have gone unnoticed for so long by Vatican staff. One of the main characters in the painting is Pope Alexander in ornate robes, kneeling and praying to the left of Christ’s tomb. Christ himself is seen resurrecting from the dead, and the whole scene is bordered by church-like arches and lush forestry in the background. With such prominent religious images, one would not exactly expect an appearance by Native Americans, whose rituals seems wholly unrelated to that of Catholic Rome and whose scant clothing clashes with the heavy robes of the pontiff.
However, further examination of European imperialistic history clarifies this schism. Two years before The Resurrection was completed, Christopher Columbus conquered the West Indies, a trip that was funded by the Spanish Catholic monarchs. In exchange for their generosity, Columbus gave them his travel logs, which described not only the geography of these islands, but also the people who lived on them.
Interestingly, Columbus’s descriptions of the natives that he saw mirror those that appear in Pinturicchio’s painting. Columbus observed nude men in ceremonial garb, who were often shown dancing in tribal rituals and looked very frightened. The travel logs were translated into Latin and circulated throughout Europe. They eventually came into the possession of Pope Alexander VI, a fellow Spaniard who was very interested in the New World, presumably for spreading Catholicism beyond Europe. Since Alexander knew about Columbus’s travels and had a vested interest in the Americas, it makes sense that the Native Americans are included in The Resurrection. Alexander was excited about the New World, not disgusted by it, and his fascination with the descriptions Columbus provided fueled his intrigue. For these reasons, Native American clothing and ceremonial dance were portrayed in a very authentic and positive manner.
Columbus’s 1493 letter to Spain’s King Ferdinand itself depicted Native Americans and island geography in a very inspiring and intriguing manner. Entitled De Insulis nuper in mari Indico repertis, Columbus’s intent was to provide a detailed snapshot of what he thought were islands in the middle of the Indian Sea. However, they were actually Caribbean Islands close to the present-day United States.
It is highly probable that his recollections of native life on these islands inspired The Resurrection’s depiction of the tribal figures in the background. Columbus includes an interesting series of prints of the islands and the mysterious people that inhabited them. Unlike anything he had ever experienced, Columbus’s print of the island he called Insula Hyspana is surrounded by a swirling, vast and endless ocean. The island, looks relatively tranquil, brimming with lush vegetation and towering cliffs over the water, absent of any known town or village. The accompanying text illuminates just what Columbus observed.
“This island and all the others are very fertile to a limitless degree. . .Its lands are high; there are in it many sierras and very lofty mountains, beyond comparison with that of Tenerife. All are most beautiful, of a thousand shapes; all are accessible and are filled with trees of a thousand kinds and tall, so that they seem to touch the sky.”
After being initially captivated by the landscape of this unfamiliar island, Columbus was completely surprised by the foreign, yet intriguing behavior of the Native Americans, whom he depicts in the print as being nude and shy, yet generous with offerings.
“The people of this land and of all other islands which I have found and of which I have information, all go naked. . .as soon as they have seen my men approaching, they have fled. . .They refuse nothing that they possess, if it be asked of them; on the contrary, they invite any one to share it and display as much love as if they would give their hearts.” Columbus is not describing these men and women as monsters but as surprisingly kind allies even though they are clad scantily and are wary of the Spanish explorers. As Columbus begins to discover more islands, he is excited by the diversity of the land and the possibilities for European development.
In an untitled print, he illustrates five islands named Fecnada, Hyspana, Saoluatorie, Plabella and Conceptore. Although some of the islands show traces of European civilization with what appear to be church spires, most of the islands are still devoid of modern development and still contain a lot of natural diversity. Columbus is very interested in the fertility of theses lands and the opportunities that awaited him.
“There are very wide and fertile plains, and there is honey; and there are birds of many kinds and fruits in great diversity. In the interior, there are mines of metals, and the population is without number. Espanola is a marvel. The sierras and the mountains, the plains, the champaigns, are so lovely and so rich for planting and sowing, for breeding cattle of every kind, for building towns and villages.”
No wonder Pope Alexander VI had a vested interest in the New World and that the Native American men The Resurrection were painted with such detailed accuracy. Due to Columbus’s favorable descriptions and artistic illustrations of the Caribbean islands’ fertility, diversity of natural resources, beautiful landscape and friendly people, this would have set the stage for cultural imperialism and the spread of Christianity beyond Europe.
What better way to commemorate Columbus’ wildly successful navigation and observations than by painting the dancing forest figures exactly as he saw them?
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