Portret van Nicolaas Mulerius 1614

This engraving of Nicolaas Mulerius was made in 1634 by Gerrit Muntinck and Gunnis, and it presents an intriguing picture of intellectual life in the Dutch Republic. Mulerius was a polymath: a doctor, mathematician, and professor at the University of Groningen. But consider how his intellectual status is being represented. Here is a man of science holding a flower, and with a celestial globe at his elbow. What can this conjunction of science and nature tell us about the social and cultural history of the Dutch Republic? The University of Groningen, where Mulerius taught, was founded in 1614, making it a relatively new institution at this time. As a professor, Mulerius would have been helping to shape the intellectual life of the northern Netherlands, which was undergoing significant transformation. As art historians, we can look to archival sources to understand the social networks in which Mulerius operated. By exploring the institutional history of the University of Groningen, we can better understand the context in which this portrait was made, and the values it was intended to convey.