Diverse bloemen 1836

Anton Weiss created this print called ‘Diverse bloemen’ using lithography in the Netherlands in the first half of the 19th century. Flower prints like this one reflect the Dutch Republic’s global trade networks. Through the Dutch East India Company, exotic botanical specimens were brought back to Europe. Here, they were studied and cataloged by scientists and were also reproduced in prints like this one. During this period, new social and cultural institutions like botanical gardens and natural history museums emerged to study and display the natural world. Although this print seems purely decorative, its creation was part of a larger cultural and economic system. To learn more, explore the Rijksmuseum’s collection database for other prints made during this period. Consider what these images tell us about European attitudes towards the natural world.