Vlaamse Gaai (Garrulus glandarius) c. 1580 - 1590

Jacques de Fornazeris created this engraving of a Eurasian jay, or Vlaamse Gaai, around the turn of the 17th century. Although deceptively simple, images of animals such as this were integral to the rise of empirical science in Europe. Naturalists and scientists employed artists like Fornazeris to record the features of different species. Fornazeris was born in the Netherlands and later became a printmaker in Venice. His engraving demonstrates the merging of art and science as it flourished across Europe. As Dutch merchants traveled the world, a new culture of scientific observation emerged. Detailed prints of specimens captured the public imagination and contributed to a growing sense of European power over the natural world. Today, historians consult prints such as this alongside scientific treatises, travel logs, and other archival material in order to fully understand the social and intellectual context of early modern science.