Abstract
This text intends to analyze a small group of images depicting Brazilian landscapes, animals and inhabitants and originally drawn by Johan Moritz Rugendas during the years following Brazil's independence, in 1822. These images were reproduced and sold in the French market in the following years. The study of the relationship between the drawings, the reproduction techniques, the publishers and the potential buyers allows for the understanding of the diversity of uses and meanings generated by the diffusion of the images.