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Humanities and the arts
- Early modern history
- History of art
- Graphic arts
- Painting and drawing
- Printmaking
The project investigates representations of nature, particularly plant imagery, as a global site of visual innovation c. 1450-1650. It examines the production of botanical pictures and plant-related artifacts resulting from transregional relations in Northern Europe, as image-making, particularly drawing, emerged a powerful tool of control and expertise: the mastery of draftsmanship reflected the possession of a body of specialized practical and descriptive skills (regarding nature and the graphic tools to depict it), largely founded on experience. The project aims to: document discourses on nature and image-making; assess the implications of drawing as an analytical, artistic, and scientific skill; explore and re-evaluate specific plant-related objects (e.g. prints, pattern books, drawings) as foundational graphic matrices, as visual templates were transplanted and reinvented from one graphic environment to another.