| Renaissance
collections
Several
different types of collections came to be assembled
concurrently in Europe during the Renaissance. Here
we will be looking at two of the principal types -
Kunstkammers and Cabinets of Specimens.
Kunstkammers
were predominantly princely collections. They were
intended to be all-embracing and encyclopaedic, reflecting
the universe by assembling the whole world under one
roof. They were created as a component of the contemporary
learning process. Here it would have been possible
to seek information on the surrounding world, while
at the same time the collection added to the prestige
of both the prince and his principality.
The Royal Danish Kunstkammer
established by Frederik
III is a good example of this type of collection.
Read more about Kunstkammers
Vignette
from Museum Regium 1696
Cabinets
of Specimens
were created by men of science to complement their
libraries. The voyages of discovery had brought back
to Europe abundant details regarding new lands and
peoples, animals and plants, which were not to be
found in the classical works consulted by the Renaissance
scholars. Therefore collections of animals and plants
came into being.
The 'Museum Wormianum',
the collection of the Danish physician and antiquarian
Ole Worm, is one notable
example of a cabinet of specimens.
Read
more about Cabinets of Specimens
Detail
of frontispiece from Museum Wormianum 1655
|
Download
the complete text about Renaissance Collections