Bloeiwijze van anjer en details van de plant c. 1650 - 1676

This is an undated drawing of a carnation's flowering habits, created with pen and gray ink. It's held here at the Rijksmuseum. Botanical drawings and prints saw a surge in popularity in the Netherlands and across Europe during the early modern period. While ostensibly scientific, these images weren't always made for a purely scholarly purpose. The rise of the Dutch East India Company and other trading organizations created a market for exotic plants, which became a status symbol for the wealthy. Collectors and amateurs drove a demand for these floral images. This drawing is a window into the cultural and economic fascination with the natural world during this period. We can research publications from this period, as well as trade records and merchant inventories, to understand the social context in which such images were created and consumed. The history of art is more than just the history of objects. It's a cultural history that helps us understand a society's values, beliefs, and priorities.