Luipaard liggend naar rechts 1657 - 1677

Marcus de Bye created this print of a leopard in the Netherlands sometime in the mid-17th century. It gives us a sense of the cultural status of exotic animals at the time. A number of historical factors came together in the Netherlands to create a unique market for such images. As a major center of international trade, the Dutch Republic had access to commodities and information from across the globe. The rise of a wealthy merchant class created a new audience for art, one with a taste for luxury and the exotic. At the same time, Dutch artists were developing new techniques for printmaking, allowing them to create detailed and accurate images of the natural world. Prints like this one reflect a growing interest in natural history, but also the power dynamics of global trade and colonization. To understand this work more fully, we can look to period texts such as travelers' accounts, natural histories, and emblem books to reveal the cultural meanings attached to the image of the leopard.