Thomas Ender

Thomas Ender (1793-1875), who was the expedition’s equivalent of a modern-day photo journalist, began to record in sketches the landscapes and cities they passed through, as well as details of life on board the ship. Once they arrived in Rio, Ender painted the luxuriant tropical forest, the many churches, public buildings and squares, and the piped water system (built in 1740). He wandered through the suburbs and the surrounding hills; he painted the famous church of Maria da Glória; he organized small expeditions and climbed the Corcovado, from where he was able to capture wonderful views over Rio. He also visited São Cristóvão, home to the royal palace of Boa Vista, and recorded the social life of Brazil in his watercolours.

The watercolours painted by Thomas Ender during the Austrian expedition to Brazil in 1817 have survived and today constitute one of the most beautiful complete collections of watercolour paintings of the Viennese Biedermeier period. They are housed in the Kupferstichkabinett of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts.