Man in boot 1755 - 1775

Robert Cooper created this print titled 'Man in boot,' in the late 17th or early 18th century. At this time, Europe was deeply engaged in colonial exploits, and this image presents a window into the era's complex relationship with the ‘Orient.’ The figure in the boat is ambiguously rendered, his identity neither fully European nor definitively ‘other.’ He is placed within a stylized landscape, one featuring palm trees alongside waterfalls. The image blurs the lines between observation and fantasy. The detailed ornamental frame around the central scene gives a clue: the image was most likely intended to decorate a wall or piece of furniture. But it does more than decorate, it brings into the domestic sphere a larger story about trade, exoticism, and the complicated dance between self and other. Looking at this print, I wonder about the narratives that Europeans constructed about the rest of the world, and how these narratives shaped both their identities and ours.