Allegorische voorstelling met Apollo en Diana en drie personificaties van de farmacie 1626

Editor: So, this is “Allegorische voorstelling met Apollo en Diana en drie personificaties van de farmacie,” an engraving by Moyses van Wtenbrouck, dating to 1626. It has a decidedly academic feel, like the frontispiece to a scholarly work. How would you interpret it? Curator: For me, this piece really highlights the entanglement of art, science, and power in the 17th century. It’s ostensibly about pharmacy, right? But seen through an intersectional lens, we can consider how the burgeoning field of medicine was also deeply implicated in colonial expansion and the control of knowledge. Editor: I see that. It's right there in the title mentioning Tabaci seu Nicotiana, “Tobacco.” So is it glorifying medicine or questioning it? Curator: I think it's doing both, perhaps unconsciously. Apollo and Diana represent healing and the hunt – linking the acquisition of knowledge to domination. The female personifications of pharmacy raise questions about gendered roles in scientific practice at the time. And consider, who benefited from this new medical knowledge, and at whose expense? Who was excluded? Editor: So, you’re saying it's important to look at who is represented and who is missing from the picture. Curator: Precisely. It prompts us to think about the social and political implications of what’s presented as objective knowledge. It’s not just about medicine; it’s about power, representation, and control. Editor: That’s given me a lot to think about; how art from the past is more nuanced than I previously thought. Curator: Absolutely, engaging with the work in this way enables a deep look into how knowledge systems are developed.