Studies of Fruits, Insects and Shells 1586 - 1638

Georg Flegel made this small study of fruit, insects and shells with watercolor and gouache around the turn of the 17th century. The painting’s realistic detail places it in the tradition of natural history illustration. During this period in Europe, images of plants and animals were of enormous value for scientific inquiry as European naturalists sought to classify the natural world for scientific and commercial purposes. But this was also a period of religious conflict, and the meticulous rendering of nature could also reflect a devotional attitude, revealing God’s wisdom through the beauty of creation. Flegel, born in what is now the Czech Republic, spent most of his career in Frankfurt, a center of publishing and commerce at the time. Frankfurt’s book publishers produced many illustrated volumes that sought to make nature accessible to scholars and amateur collectors alike. As historians, we rely on such publications, along with personal correspondence, travel accounts, and collecting inventories to piece together the social and institutional contexts in which artworks like this were created and used.