Twee tulpen met drie insecten 1637

Jacob Marrel made this watercolour of two tulips with three insects, probably in the 1640s, when he was working in the Netherlands. During this period, the Dutch became obsessed with tulips. They were new to Europe, coming from Turkey. The rarest bulbs fetched enormous prices and were traded on the stock exchange. This phenomenon is known as ‘tulip mania’ and is considered the first speculative bubble in history. When the market crashed in 1637, many investors were ruined. Here, Marrel depicts two highly prized varieties. With their flame-like markings, these would have been status symbols for their owners. As a social historian of art, I would be interested to research the economic conditions that allowed tulip mania to take hold, who profited from it, and how the crash affected Dutch society. I'd also consider the role that images like this played in fueling the craze.