Otto Marseus van Schrieck, Johannes Swammerdam and Paolo Boccone: Visual Strategies and Communicating Science

The protagonists of this presentation, Van Schrieck, Swammerdam and Boccone, all worked in Amsterdam in the early 1670s, and all had ties with the Medici-court in Tuscany. Challenged by the new Cartesian philosophy, they closely studied the structure and genesis of insects, plants and fungi in great detail. Besides putting new theories to the test and using the new microscope, they also experimented with new visual strategies. Zooming in and out; time-lapsing; embalming; and exploring the borders of representation were just a few of the techniques they explored.

Eric Jorink holds the Teylers chair at Leiden University and is senior researcher at the Huygens Institute (KNAW). He is visiting scholar in the Research Group Visualizing Science in Media Revolutions. He is currently finishing a biography of the microscopist Johannes Swammerdam (1637-1680).

Please find the video registration of the event on our VIMEO CHANNEL: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/683359763

Scientific organization: Sietske Fransen

_{Immage: A reworked etching by Johannes Swammerdam, showing the generation of the silkworm, ca. 1677. Courtesy Leiden University Library, Ms BPL 126 B f 33.}