Observation and Experience:
Art, Science, and the Production of Natural Knowledge,
1580-1720
Christopher Heuer
and Doug Hildebrecht
dough@planet.nl
Four short papers
on specific objects and practices opened the workshop,
aimed at examples of overlap between scientific and
artistic pursuits in northern Europe. After a brief
introduction by the organizers, Pamela Smith spoke
about Wenzel Jamnitzer, Ria Fabri shared recent work
on Flemish perspective cabinets, Anne Goldgar summarized
her research on tulips and collecting, and Susan Koslow
spoke on Rembrandt's Aristotelianism. The discussion
which followed focused largely on early modern definitions
of epistemology rather than visual representation
per se; much comment arose on how writers such as
Palissy, Paracelsus, Niceron, and Kirchner (on how
we know the natural world) may have impacted the strategies
of making pictures or organizing objects in collections.
A key (unresolved) point of debate related to the
precise nature of the information art works provided.
Regarding botanical illustrations, for example, discussants
argued about what conditions existed for such images
to be understood as art objects, as sources of scientific
information, or both.
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