Albumblad met diverse voorstellingen 1814 - 1869

This Album Leaf with various depictions was made by Alexander Cranendoncq, sometime in the first half of the 19th century. It is made with pen and ink, on paper. These images show animals from around the world, drawn with careful attention to detail and proportion. The linear quality of the ink drawings gives the sheet an encyclopedic feel, reminiscent of natural history illustration of the time. But the accumulation of images on a single sheet of paper transforms the scientific into something personal, like a collection or scrapbook. The album leaf format is significant. It is humble and intimate, a far cry from the grand scale of academic painting. Yet, it speaks volumes about the era when global exploration and scientific discovery were transforming our understanding of the natural world. Cranendoncq's work blurs the lines between scientific documentation, personal expression, and the wider culture of collecting and categorizing that defined the 19th century.