Upcoming Exhibition
In the Library: Animal Illustration in Europe, 1550–1750
Details
Explore the world of animal illustrations at the dawn of European natural history, when scientific discovery and imagination combined. Peek into nearly 40 works from the Library’s rare book collection.
From the largest mammals to the smallest insects, the animal world has always inspired writers and illustrators. Since ancient times, humans have projected character traits onto animals. In medieval Europe, animals became subjects of a new literary genre of religious stories. At the same time, a growing interest in science made artists concerned with anatomic accuracy.
See how illustrators approached the same creatures from different perspectives during this period of rich development. You’ll find early scientific drawings, illustrated fables, and drawing manuals from the 16th to 18th centuries—all rarely on view.
This installation complements Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World, on view in the West Building from May 18 through November 2, 2025.
Selected works
Maria Sibylla Merian (author and illustrator), Dorothea Maria Henriette Merian (illustrator), Johanna Helena Herolt (illustrator), Der rupsen begin, voedzel en wonderbaare verandering (The Caterpillar’s Beginnings, Food, and Miraculous Change), Amsterdam, 1713-1717, Nell and Robert Weidenhammer Fund
Joannes Jonstonus (author), M. Grasius (translator), Unknown illustrator, Jan Jacobsz Schipper (publisher), Naeukeurige beschryving van de natuur der viervoetige dieren, vissen en bloedlooze water-dieren, vogelen, kronkel-dieren, slangen en dranken (Accurate description of the nature of four-footed animals, fishes and bloodless water animals, birds, wriggling animals, snakes and reptiles), Amsterdam, 1660, David K. E. Bruce Fund
Matías de Irala (artist), Metodo sucinto i conpendioso de cinco simetrias appropriadas a las cinco ordenes de arquitectura, adornada con otras reglas utiles (Succinct and concise method of five symmetries appropriate to the five orders of architecture, embellished with other useful rules), Madrid, 1730, Nell and Robert Weidenhammer Fund
