Florida

I tried to imagine what it might have looked like, when Ponce de Leon first arrived in Florida. At first, I thought to paint some Native American... more

by AnnaJo Vahle

Buy the Original Painting

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

40.000 x 30.000 inches

Title

Florida

Artist

AnnaJo Vahle

Medium

Painting - Acrylic On Canvas

Description

I tried to imagine what it might have looked like, when Ponce de Leon first arrived in Florida. At first, I thought to paint some Native American Indians on the beach but then I decided that even if there were or were not people witnessing the Europeans' arrival, that somewhere on the beach, there were certainly shore birds present for the event. I included a Spanish ship on the horizon in my painting. I painted the sunrise as I have seen it in this area.
According to the "500TH Florida Discovery Council Round Table", on March 3, 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon, organized and equipped three ships which commenced an expedition departing from "Punta Aguada" Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was thus the historic 1st gateway to the discovery of Florida. De Leon introduced Christianity, Cattle, Horses, Sheep, the Spanish language, and more to Spanish Florida, 107 years before the Pilgrims landed.
The three ships in this small fleet were the Santiago, the San Cristobal and the Santa Maria de la Consolacion. After leaving Puerto Rico, they sailed northwest along the great chain of Bahama Islands, known then as the Lucayos. By March 27, Easter Sunday, they reached the northern end of the Bahamas sighting an unfamiliar island (probably Great Abaco).
For the next several days the fleet crossed open water until April 2, 1513, when they sighted land which Ponce de Leon believed was another island. He named it La Florida in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season, which the Spaniards called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers). The following day they came ashore to seek information and take possession of this new land. The precise location of their landing on the Florida coast has been disputed for many years. Some historians believe it occurred at St. Augustine; others prefer a more southern landing at a small harbor now called Ponce de Leon Inlet; and some argue that Ponce came ashore even farther south near the present location of Melbourne Beach.

Uploaded

December 20th, 2012