Plate 58: A Bee and Five Other Insects c. 1575 - 1580

Joris Hoefnagel created this watercolor and gouache on vellum, entitled Plate 58: A Bee and Five Other Insects, circa 1575-1600. This drawing is a page from a natural history book. Books such as these played a crucial role in the scientific revolution. In the early modern period, new institutions like the Royal Society of London were being established to promote scientific knowledge, and they relied heavily on observation and documentation. Hoefnagel, who was from Antwerp, was part of a culture that valued detailed naturalistic imagery. The presence of Latin text indicates an educated audience, trained in the classical tradition of natural philosophy. What might it mean to represent the natural world in the service of knowledge? The social conditions that shape artistic production also shape the kinds of knowledge that are valued. We can learn more about these conditions by studying the archives of scientific institutions. The meaning of an artwork is always contingent on its social and institutional context.