Omai a Native of Ulaietea
Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815) Londres, 1774 Eau-forte, burin, pointillé
This engraving is based on a drawing by Nathaniel Dance (1735–1811) of Omai (1751 or 1753–1779 or 1783), the first Tahitian ever brought to England. When the navigator Tobias Furneaux (1735–1781) brought Omai to England in 1774, several portraits were made of the Tahitian, who aroused great curiosity and was feted by scholars and grandees. Diderot challenged the social and religious models of 18th-century France by comparing them with Tahitian practices.