Tradescantia, Tulpe, Türkenbund 

N. Robb created this botanical study of Tradescantia, Tulip, and Turk's cap lily, but the date remains unknown. Although seemingly simple, botanical illustrations like this tell us a lot about shifting social structures of the time, and the transition to a more scientific method of understanding and classifying the natural world. The level of detail here suggests a scientific interest, or perhaps a kind of collector’s catalogue. At this time, wealthy patrons kept “cabinets of curiosities,” small collections of wonders from the natural world, which may have included botanical illustrations such as this one. To better understand the image, it would be worthwhile to examine inventories of such cabinets, and learn more about the relationship between art and science at that time. Looking at the institutional role of botanical gardens in the 17th and 18th centuries could also give us valuable information about the purpose and meaning of this image.