Story: Ideas about Māori origins

Artists’ interpretations (1st of 3)

Artists’ interpretations

In the age of exploration Europeans were enchanted with the exoticism of foreign lands and their peoples. Artists gladly fed the hunger for romantic notions of life in natural settings, and artistic licence was widespread. This image, ‘Girl of New Zealand’, is derived from an engraving of a young man by Piron, a French artist who visited in 1793.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PUBL-0172-2-136
Hand-coloured engraving by Piron

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

K. R. Howe, 'Ideas about Māori origins - 1770s–1840s: early ideas', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/1586/artists-interpretations (accessed 27 April 2024)

Story by K. R. Howe, published 8 Feb 2005