Dieren van Java, 1596 1597 - 1646

This is an engraving called 'Dieren van Java', or 'Animals of Java', made in 1596 by an anonymous artist. The composition is divided into three horizontal zones: land, sea, and sky. The animals, rendered with a keen eye for detail, are arranged in a way that suggests not a naturalistic scene but an inventory. What's striking here is the disjunction between the detailed rendering of the animals and the almost schematic backdrop. The ships, for instance, seem to float on the sea, lacking a real sense of depth or weight. This highlights a tension between empirical observation and symbolic representation. Are we meant to see this as a factual depiction or as an allegorical tableau? The artist seems less interested in capturing the essence of Java's wildlife than in presenting it as a collection of curiosities, a testament to the island's exoticism and the reach of European exploration. The engraving thus functions as a kind of visual archive, cataloging the world as it was then perceived. It is a world, however, where precise documentation and subjective interpretation are inherently intertwined.