@article{ART003397061},
author={Jung Seung Hee},
title={Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements},
journal={Cross-Cultural Studies},
issn={1598-0685},
year={2026},
volume={79},
pages={355-390}
TY - JOUR
AU - Jung Seung Hee
TI - Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements
JO - Cross-Cultural Studies
PY - 2026
VL - 79
IS - null
PB - Center for Cross Culture Studies
SP - 355
EP - 390
SN - 1598-0685
AB - This study examines early representations of the allegory of America and their iconographic elements as they emerged within the “four continents allegory” motif in the late sixteenth century. It analyzes nine such representations, beginning with the personification of America in Abraham Ortelius’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570). Their iconographic elements are examined under three categories: “nudity and bodily adornment,” “cannibalism and everyday life,” and “nature, flora, and fauna.” The analysis demonstrates that the defining iconographic characteristics of the allegory of America are the representation of nudity and the motif of cannibalism. These features should be understood not as faithful reflections of the appearance and lifeways of Indigenous peoples but rather as selectively emphasized and distorted representations that placed America closer to savagery. The four continents allegory functioned as an ideological tool through which a Eurocentric hierarchical order was articulated in a world newly expanded by the “discovery” of the New World. As part of this allegorical system, the allegory of America continued to be reproduced for more than 300 years after it first emerged.
KW - personification of territory;New World;four continents allegory;allegory of America;Cesare Ripa
DO -
UR -
ER -
Jung Seung Hee. (2026). Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements. Cross-Cultural Studies, 79, 355-390.
Jung Seung Hee. 2026, "Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements", Cross-Cultural Studies, vol.79, pp.355-390.
Jung Seung Hee "Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements" Cross-Cultural Studies 79 pp.355-390 (2026) : 355.
Jung Seung Hee. Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements. 2026; 79 355-390.
Jung Seung Hee. "Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements" Cross-Cultural Studies 79(2026) : 355-390.
Jung Seung Hee. Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements. Cross-Cultural Studies, 79, 355-390.
Jung Seung Hee. Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements. Cross-Cultural Studies. 2026; 79 355-390.
Jung Seung Hee. Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements. 2026; 79 355-390.
Jung Seung Hee. "Early Allegorical Representations of America and the Formation of Iconographic Elements" Cross-Cultural Studies 79(2026) : 355-390.
