On the occasion of the marriage of Archduchess Leopoldine to Prince Pedro of Braganca, an expedition of scientists and artists accompanied Leopoldine to Rio de Janeiro. Members of this expedition came from Austria (e.g. Thomas Ender, Johann Natterer, Johann E. Pohl) and Bavaria (Johann von Spix and Carl von Martius). Within a single year, the 24-year-old Thomas Ender painted 782 water colors in Rio de Janiero, pictures which all have a singular luminous effect, a deep feeling for nature and social life. Early nineteenth Century Brazil is reflected in the landscape paintings of Thomas Ender (1793 - 1875) and in the scientific work by Spix and Martius.

Gloria Kaiser, born in Styria, Austria, is an award-winning novelist known for her historical novels which focus on Brazil, where she spends part of every year. Her books include Dona Leopoldina. The Habsburg Empress of Brazil, Saudade: the Life and Death of Queen Maria Glória of Lusitania, Pedro II of Brazil: Son of the Habsburg Empress, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Perspectives from his Correspondence, as well as Die Amazone von Rom. Das abenteuerliche Leben der Christina von Schweden.

Recorded Tuesday, May 04, 2010 at Goethe-Institut Chicago.