Honden en een muildier before 1650

This print, "Dogs and a Mule," was made by Antonio Tempesta, around the turn of the 17th century. It is etched in ink on paper. Tempesta was working in Italy at a time when natural history was becoming a popular field of study. Images like these, which aimed to document the natural world, were important to the development of scientific thought and the public role of art. This print reveals the artist’s interest in the diversity of animals, depicting dogs from different regions, as indicated by the labels. It speaks to the early modern desire to collect and classify all knowledge of the world within institutional settings such as libraries and museums. To understand this print better, historians consult a range of sources such as scientific treatises, travelogues, and emblem books. These inform us of the cultural meanings attached to animals. Through historical research, we can recover the complex social and institutional context that shaped the artistic production of its time.