Marisa Anne Bass

How the nature illustrations of a Renaissance polymath reflect his turbulent age. This pathbreaking and stunningly illustrated book recovers the intersections between natural history, politics, art, and philosophy in the late sixteenth-century Low Countries. Insect Artifice explores the moment when the seismic forces of the Dutch Revolt wreaked havoc on the region's creative and intellectual community, compelling its members to...

Monuments occupy a controversial place in nations founded on principles of freedom and self-governance. It is no accident that when we think of monuments, we think of statues modelled on legacies of conquest, domination, and violence. The Monument's End reveals how the artists, architects, poets, and scholars of the early modern Netherlands contended with the profound disconnect between the public...

Among nature's most artful creations, shells have long inspired the curiosity and passion of artisans, artists, collectors, and thinkers. Conchophilia delves into the intimate relationship between shells and people, offering an unprecedented account of the early modern era, when the influx of exotic shells to Europe fuelled their study and representation as never before. From elaborate nautilus cups and shell-encrusted...

Among nature's most artful creations, shells have long inspired the curiosity and passion of artisans, artists, collectors, and thinkers. Conchophilia delves into the intimate relationship between shells and people, offering an unprecedented account of the early modern era, when the influx of exotic shells to Europe fuelled their study and representation as never before. From elaborate nautilus cups and shell-encrusted...