Handekenskruid, in een vrouwelijke en mannelijke plant 1617

Crispijn van de Passe II created this engraving of two orchids side by side, sometime in the first half of the 17th century. This image is part of a tradition of botanical illustration that gained popularity at the time due to both scientific and commercial interests. The division of the image into ‘male’ and ‘female’ plants speaks to the early modern need to bring order to the natural world through categorization. But also, the overt sexuality of the orchid’s form, referenced in the title, reveals anxieties about the natural world's potential to elude such categories. Van de Passe was working in Amsterdam, then a center for both scientific inquiry and the international trade in exotic plants. It is interesting to consider the role of Dutch printmakers in mediating these interests, creating images that could be circulated amongst both learned and popular audiences. To understand this image better, one might consult both botanical texts and emblem books. The social and cultural history of the print helps us understand its meaning.