Bezoekers in het natuurhistorisch kabinet van Levinus Vincent in Haarlem c. 1706

Andries van Buysen the Elder created this print which depicts visitors in the natural history cabinet of Levinus Vincent in Haarlem. In the 17th and 18th centuries, curiosity cabinets like Vincent’s were physical assertions of power, knowledge, and privilege. The visitors here, predominantly men of a certain class, embody the Enlightenment’s fascination with collecting and categorizing the natural world. These collections weren’t just about science; they were about exerting control over a world increasingly accessible through colonization and trade. The items displayed, often sourced from distant lands, reflect a complex interplay of scientific curiosity, colonial exploitation, and the aestheticization of the ‘exotic.’ Consider the emotional landscape here: the wonder and awe, but also the subtle assertion of dominance over these objects. What stories do these curated collections conceal about their origins, and the labor, exploitation, and extraction that made them possible?