The Fallacy of the Jacques LeMoyne Engravings

Extinct since the 1700’s, the only known illustrations of what the Native American Timucua Indians of Florida looked like were done by French artist, Jacques LeMoyne, the first European artist to set foot in the New World. The French government commissioned Le Moyne to accompany explorer Rene de Laudonnière and a group of French citizens on their journey to establish the first European settlement in the New World in 1564. Laudonnière and his party traveled up the St. Johns River and established a new settlement at Fort Caroline, where Le Moyne spent more than a year documenting the wonders he saw. The new settlement, however, came under a surprise midnight attack when the Spanish decided to remind the French that they had previously laid claim to Florida. Only a few escaped—including LeMoyne—but his artwork was left behind and presumably burned with the Fort as he sought safety in the swamps. He was later rescued and returned to France. Twenty years later, with interest in the New World at its peak, LeMoyne recreated his paintings from memory.

He died before he could publish his work. Theodor DeBry, an engraver, goldsmith and editor, bought the paintings from LeMoyne’s widow and subsequently created engravings based on LeMoyne’s work. In 1591 he published Les Grands Voyages. It became known as The Discovery of America and was a huge commercial success, providing Europeans with their first glimpse of life in the New World. For centuries, it was considered to be the definitive reference on early Florida and the Timucua people. Even today, DeBry’s engravings are used to show students of Florida history what life and the Timucua were like in the 16th century. The engravings were copied by other artists and have been passed down through the centuries as our collective memory of the Timucua and their way of life.

The problem is, the LeMoyne/deBry work is fraught with inaccuracies—like 40-foot alligators with ears and pictures of Native Americans with European facial features. The engravings are still treasured because none of LeMoyne’s original work was ever found—and because there are no living Timucuans to tell us about their ancestors. As a result, the inaccuracies have permeated Florida’s history and have been celebrated as the best portrayal of the Timucua Indians who made Florida their home years before European explorers claimed the savage land for their respective kings.

Alligators with Ears

A LeMoyne/DeBry engraving depicting 40-foot alligators with ears. Photo: public domain

Who Were The Timuca?

The Timucua, a sedentary hunter-gatherer tribe, lived and hunted on the same land, fished in the same waters and experienced the same temperate climate that attract millions of people to Florida today. While most North American hunter-gatherer tribes moved on after depleting the food sources where they were camped, Florida’s forests and estuaries endlessly provided for the Timucua’s needs and they chose to inhabit northeast and central Florida for thousands of years—long before St. Augustine, the country’s oldest city was established.

When the strangely dressed Europeans landed on their shores, the Timucua approached them with curiosity rather than aggression, welcoming the explorers and presenting them with gifts. The Timucua willingly shared insights into their culture and techniques for survival with their European visitors. In return, the Europeans shared their religion, their diseases and their wars. The ancient tribe that had flourished for thousands of years soon became extinct. The last of the Timucuans is reported to have died in the 1700’s.

Ribault’s Column

A LeMoyne/DeBry engraving depicting the Timucua Indians showing their European visitors a column erected by a previous French explorer. The Timucua had decorated it with flowers and placed a variety of offerings at its base. Photo: public domain

A Contemporary Artist Tackles the Past

And then, along came Theodore Morris, a modern-day artist whose combined love of history and art has resulted in an ongoing body of work known as Florida’s Lost Tribes. Morris first became interested in accurately preserving the history of the Timucua and other early Florida tribes in 1992 when he was working on a poster for the Florida Anthropological Society. While conducting research for the project Morris was amazed to find a tremendous dearth of accurate illustrations of Florida’s first natives to assist him in creating the poster.

Although noted anthropologist and archaeologist Jerald T. Milanich, the curator of Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida in Gainesville, says there is hardly a book, website or museum exhibit dealing with the Timucua that does not make use of the LeMoyne/DeBry engravings, archeologists and historians began to question their accuracy. Obvious problems with depictions of the New World—including the disproportionate size of the alligators, not to mention the ears—led scholars to question whether the engravings could be trusted as accurate in their depiction of the Timucua. Archeological digs unearthed tools and other examples of Timucua culture that contradicted those included in the engravings. Likewise, historical studies of the letters and other documents recorded during the European contact period have verified that the DeBry engravings are fraught with discrepancies.

Fueled by his passion for history and his artistic talent, Morris began his quest to correct these inaccuracies and portray a more realistic picture of the Native Americans who inhabited Florida long ago. He conducted in-depth research into Florida’s earliest history and accompanied archeologists on their digs. With the help of science and history, Morris used his art to paint a different, extremely realistic picture of Florida’s earliest settlers.

Morris paintings

Left. The Traders, oil on canvas, 1999, 24"x 36". This painting depicts a Timucua family from the interior of Florida as they leave a coastal village. Right: The Fisherman, oil on canvas, 2003, 20"x 16". Timucua fishermen used a bow and arrow to shoot fish. The arrowheads were secured to the shaft with pine resin and rawhide strips. Photos courtesy Theodore Morris

Today Morris is regarded as a leading authority on Florida’s lost tribes. His work has been acclaimed by historians and exhibited in museums throughout the state. In 1998 the Florida Anthropological Society produced Shadows and Reflections: Florida's Lost People, a video that featured his art. In 2004 Morris wrote and published a book, Florida’s Lost Tribes—Through the Eyes of an Artist, with Jerald Milanich.

Correcting the LeMoyne/DeBry inaccuracies is only one of Morris’ goals. His longer-range plans extend beyond the Timucua to include Florida’s other early Native American tribes. “I would like to create a body of work similar to George Catlin who painted early portraits of America’s Western tribes,” explains Morris. “My goal is to complete paintings that cover an entire community of people from each of the major tribes of Florida.

“What I like about Ted's paintings of Florida Indians is that he does his research, acquiring the best information he can get from both archaeological and documentary sources,” says Milanich. “Whether it is the incised design on a fired clay pottery vessel made by a Tocobaga Indian or the motif exhibited on a copper breast plate worn by an Apalchee Indian, Ted's renderings are the most accurate money can buy.”

“It’s very satisfying for me,” says Morris. “I’m doing something I love—combining history, painting and education—and I’m making money at it, too,” he laughs. His paintings and prints are all available for sale. “Some people buy them and donate them to the museum that hosted the exhibit, which is really nice. Others buy them just because they love Florida history and want to have the painting in their home to make that connection.”

Most recently, Morris’ efforts have sparked the interest of the Public Public Trust Environmental Institute of Florida , a not-for-profit organization based in Jacksonville that is dedicated to protecting and preserving public lands and waters. They’re planning to launch a Timucuan Art contest for artists in Northeast Florida. Ten of the entrants will be awarded commissions to create new paintings based on the LeMoyne/DeBry engravings. Public Trust will provide the artists with the background information needed to correct the inaccuracies based on the historical data that is now available. Morris will serve on a panel of scholars along with other area experts: archeologist Keith Ashley, Cummer Art Museum curator Holly Keris, and wildlife/landscape artist C. Ford Riley . The panel will consult with the artists throughout the project.

“We have these classic works that are treasures, but we know that they’re not completely accurate,” says Public Trust President Warren Anderson. “We know far more now about what should be in those works than DeBry, who never went to the New World. The goal of this project is to have contemporary artists correct history by integrating modern historical scholarship with the classic works that we’ve had for 400 years. The wedding will be exciting.”

The progeny will be a book that includes the original and the corrected piece on facing pages. The new pieces will be introduced to the public through exhibits at museums and galleries, and perhaps through this newsletter. Hopefully the Timucua spirits will rest easier knowing that their legacy lives on—far more accurately than ever before—through the marriage of history, science and art in the 21st century.