Synopsis
Art and science are commonly considered to be two distinct expressions of human culture. This volume of the Netherlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek is devoted to the extremely rich and complex relationship between these two in the early modern Netherlands, a relationship which went much further than the use of linear perspective in painting. Both in theory and in everyday practice, the distinction between 'art' and 'science' was hard to sustain, and often proved to be not that relevant at all. Artists perfected the portrayal of human anatomy, natural historians reflected on the visual representation of previously unknown forms of life, and wealthy citizens possessed cabinets of curiosities in which naturalia and articificalia shared prominence. The case studies in this rich and challenging volume explore such topics as the influence of pictography, theories of vision and colour, the influence of Cartesian natural philosophy on art theory, and the allegorisation of science in Dutch frontispieces, amongst others.
Review
"This collection of articles, with each essay far more richly developed and nuanced than can be suggested here, is recommended for anyone interested in the relation between art and science and, more generally, intellectual history during Holland's Golden Age and the following century."
Dan Ewing, Barry University in HNA Review of Books
" 'Art and science' has been a growing field of research interest in recent years, but it is often hard, as Ludmilla Jordanova has pointed out time and again, to get the 'and' - to join scholarship in the history of art and the history of science - right (e.g. 'And?', British Journal for the History of Science 35 (2002) 341-345). This volume of collected essays does, and it is so effectively because instead of treating 'art' and 'science' as separate spheres with an intersection and focusing simply on that intersection, it starts with a premise that the categories of 'art' and 'science' should not be separated and that in fact both activities inhabit the same, much wider territory of culture. Such a strategy is entirely justified, given that since classical times, art and nature were polar but mutually dependent terms in pre-modern Europe."
...
"In sum, this volume presents exemplary and innovative research in 'art and science' and demonstrates the fertility of this region as the centre of scientific, artistic and printing activities in the period. It would be interesting to develop further comparative angles, for example in Britain, where so many of the artists had come from the Netherlands. The editors have done a fine job in not only setting exemplary scholarly standards but also in pointing to potentially fruitful research ahead."
Sachiko Kusukawa, Trinity College, Cambridge in BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review
"Art and Science in the Early Modern Netherlands is an exquisite publication, a new installment of the prestigious Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art, a journal published in the form of an annual book series. Appropriately for an art history publication, it is lavishly illustrated, with high quality black and white images.
...
The material in this book is no exception, and this magnificent edition rivals with the best collections in art history and history of science. Irrespective of its exceptional scholarly qualities, it can even be used as a coffee-table book!"
Koen Vermeir, CNRS, Paris in Centaurus
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