Beyond Shelves and Paper: Stones Investigations in the Late Renaissance

Alexandre Claude, M.A.

This project intends to reassess ideas about collecting and studying nature in the early modern period by focusing on stones. It goes beyond the museum making (sample gathering on shelves) and book making (description/depiction on paper) to show how the growing display of stones in cities, in decor, and in various collections made the underground more explicitly visible, which fostered an interest in studying rocks and not only minerals. The early modern research space appears to be not only the cabinet but the land- and cityscape.
After studying the interplay between collections and outdoor spaces, the second research axis of Beyond Shelves and Paper explores the ways stones were observed in the late sixteenth century. One particular case study is their observation through their depictions. Indeed, the usefulness of drawing was questioned since stones seemed unchanging and long-lasting. The famous Bolognese naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi advises that ‘there is no need to exert yourself to draw the stones; you just need to carry them dry with you.’ But even in smaller numbers compared to plants and animals, the stone depictions gathered for this project show a specific care in making and preserving them. Drawings were an actual evidence of the uniqueness of each mineral specimen, and paying attention to these works and practices will reveal lesser-known aspects of the late-Renaissance investigation of nature.