Twee tulpen met vliegend hert 1637

Jacob Marrel, around the mid-17th century, rendered these tulips and insects with watercolor on paper. The materials are straightforward, yet they evoke a specific moment in time. During this period, the Dutch Republic was gripped by "tulip mania," a speculative frenzy that drove the price of these flowers to exorbitant heights. Marrel’s choice of watercolor, with its delicate washes and precise details, reflects the scientific interest in natural history that fueled this obsession. The meticulous rendering of the tulips’ variegated patterns and the stag beetle’s chitinous armor speaks to an almost obsessive level of scrutiny. But there’s also an economic dimension at play. These images were not just aesthetic exercises, they were commodities themselves, meant to be collected and traded. Think of this work, then, as a kind of early capitalist artifact, where art, science, and commerce intersect in a fascinating way. Paying attention to the materials and making of this artwork reveals its connection to the social context of its time.