Russians Visit a South Pacific “Paradise”
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	Ludovik Andreevich Choris (1795–1828) Voyage pittoresque autour du monde, avec des portraits de sauvages d’Amérique, d’Asie, d’Afrique, et des îles du Grand océan [A Picturesque Voyage Around the World, with Portraits of the Savages of America, Asia, Africa, and the Islands of the Pacific Ocean] Paris: Firmin Didot, 1822 NYPL, Rare Books Division An artist of German-Russian parentage born in Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), Ludovik Choris accompanied Otto von Kotzebue (1787–1846, son of the playwright August von Kotzebue) on his first voyage around the world (1815–18). Here he portrays a native chief, called Rarik in Kotzebue’s text, who lived on Romanzoff (Rumiantsev) Island, the Marshall Islands, named for the Russian Chancellor and maecenas Nikolai Rumiantsev (d. 1826). Kotzebue describes Rarik’s childlike enthusiasm and astonishment at the Europeans and their pots and pans. As chief, Rarik wore many ornaments, flowers, and beads, and his tattoos covered the greater part of his body, giving him “the look of a person wearing armor.”