Switzerland is a hub for commodity trading. Did you know that this activity represents 4% of Swiss GDP, and even 22% of tax revenue for the canton of Geneva? We continue to explore this vast subject from another angle, but in a new series, we publish a series of articles, focusing each time on a raw material and an artistic or cultural work. This week we are talking about corn. We will be able to see the first design of corn and examine its symbolism for the Mayans and the Aztecs. We will also see the use of this plant in renewable energies. This gives us the opportunity to admire the painting by the painter Jan Mortel (1652-1719), Dutch painter: Still life with ears of corn.
First drawing of corn
It was to the German botanist Fuchs in 1542 that we owe the first drawing of this plant in Europe, which you can consult on page 72.
Corn symbolism for the Mayans and Aztecs
For the Mayan people, Yum Xak was the god of corn, and therefore also of agriculture.
The plant here takes the form of a benevolent god, symbolizing life, prosperity and abundance,
According to Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Mayan people, the first men were forged with corn, white and yellow in color.
Among the Aztecs, it was the god Quetzalcoatl, the “feathered serpent” who gave this food to humans, as a thank you for their loyalty.
If we see other Aztec motifs, which represent corn, it is Tlaloc, the god of rain and agriculture who is associated with corn.
Use of maize in renewable energies
The plant, as a renewable energy source, allows the production of ethanol.
Does the use of ethanol reduce CO2 emissions? ?
A study, published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” (PNAS), has shown that carbon emissions resulting from the use of land for the cultivation of corn can have the opposite effect on the emission of CO2.
This study is therefore in total contradiction with previous studies, which consider that ethanol makes it possible to lower emissions compared to fossil fuel.
Still life with ears of corn
The plant has been part of the daily life of Europeans for several centuries, as evidenced by the painting “Still life with ears of corn” which dates from 1700 and which was painted by the Dutch painter, Jan Mortel (1652-1719).
More corn stories:
In the same series, “Raw materials and art”:
- Cereals and Van Gogh
- Coffee and culture
- Cotton and Edgar Degas
- Cocoa and Luis Meléndez
- Sugar and Sartre
- Copper and Chardin
- Steel and Gayle Hermick
Sources :
seed of life at the heart of rituals – Plants and Health (plantes-et-sante.fr)
firstimages.pdf (purdue.edu)
Aztec symbols: a unique civilization and religion (la-porte-du-bonheur.com)
Ethanol finally worse than gasoline? (leblogauto.com)
Photo credit : Jan Mortel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons