Nzinga in the arts in past centuries
In 1687, in a book dedicated to the double queen, the Italian priest Cavazzi described the famous 1622 meeting in Luanda between Nzinga and Correia de Sousa, the Portuguese Governor, at which a peace treaty was negotiated. When the Queen arrived in the reception room, the governor did not offer her a chair on which to sit. Stung by this action, she ordered one of her servants to crouch on all fours to make a seat for her, thus subtly suggesting that she had come to negotiate on an equal footing. This act inspired the priest Cavazzi to capture the scene in a now famous painting.
In 1769, the French author Jean-Louis Castilhon published "Zingha, Reine d’Angola" [Nzinga, Queen of Angola], the first historical novel to be written on Africa from an anti-colonialist standpoint. The novel, depicting the queen as a rich, paradoxical and complex character, caused quite a stir.
In 1830, Achille Devéria, the French illustrator, fired by enthusiasm after reading portrayals of the Queen of Ndongo and Matamba, decided to draw her portrait. His imaginary depiction of Njinga was widely accepted in Europe as the official portrait of Queen Njinga.
The negotiation between Nzinga Mbandi and the vice-King of Portugal in the book "Nzinga, Reine d’Angola. La Relation d’Antonio Cavazzi de Montecuccolo", 1687.