“Four Parts of the World: Asia on an Elephant, Europa on a Bull, Africa on a Lion, America on a Crocodile, on Their Usual Signs”: Personifications of Four Continents in 18th-century Russian Art

Abstract

Since the end of the 17th century, personifications of the four parts of the world, or four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and America), have appeared in Russian art, along with many elements of the Western European allegorical vocabulary. These allegorical figures in some works of art attracted the attention of researchers, but their iconography has not yet been elaborately analyzed. The present article summarizes information about personifications of the four parts of the world in 18th-century Russian art. Their iconography is examined in Western European context and in comparison with their descriptions in iconological lexicons (e.g., Honoré Lacombe de Prézel’s "Dictionnaire iconologique, ou introduction à la connoissance des peintures, sculptures, médailles, estampes...") and literature. The iconography of the personifications of the four parts of the world, borrowed from European art, varied from case to case, following different patterns, but remained recognizable. Allegorical figures could be accompanied by various symbolic animals. Sometimes parts of the world could be depicted as children, also in accordance with one of the variations of European iconography. The appearance of allegorical figures of the four continents in panegyric art served to the purpose of glorifying the Russian Empire and its ruler. By pointing to the universality of their meaning, these allegorical figures helped to exalt the imperial nature of power. In addition to the examples of personifications of the four parts of the world in 18th-century Russian art which were already analyzed, the article adds works of art that had not previously attracted attention in connection with this topic, including images of not-preserved decorations of court celebrations, as well as alternative embodiments of universal meaning (such as images of the winds).