About This Exhibit:

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"The Animal Kingdom: Six Centuries of Zoological Illustration" is based on the superb collection of books in Special Collections containing scientific and artistic images of animals dating from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries. The exhibition includes images of animals from early printed herbals and travel books of the sixteenth century. These artists rarely work from actual specimens but from their imaginations or from the descriptions of others. The results were often fantastic creatures such as unicorns and mermaids. Books in the exhibit from this period include Petri Andreæ Matthioli senensis medici: commentarii in sex libros Pedacii Dioscoridis and Ortus sanitatis.

This exhibition was on display in the Special Collection Gallery from February 13-June 12, 2007.

Tags: Animals; Zoology; Zoological illustration

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