"When Art was Used as a Cure" - Arezzo

BOTANICAL EXHIBITION
"WHEN ART WAS USED AS A CURE":
Herbariums in science and art

Palazzo Comunale, Arezzo 3 february - 1 april 2007

The exhibition is the result of the cultural activities of Aboca Museum - the herb museum of Aboca herbal company - and its purpose is to highlight issues related to the functional and educational evolution of botanical communication between the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment, a period during which an innumerable quantity of written and drawn descriptions of the plant world was printed.

In the wake of large geographical voyages of exploration, and at the instigation of cultured patrons wishing to receive novel and rare plants, there was a boom in florilegia of the world of herbs - the boast of libraries - and of medical-naturalistic gardens - ornaments in towns and cities. Botany was at first studied for the medical benefits it offered, but later aesthetic and naturalistic factors gained in importance: the outlook of the fifteenth century, which was primarily descriptive rather than aesthetic and exclusively based on health-related concerns, gave way to appreciation of plants for their physical beauty and the splendour of their flowers.

During the period in question, a botanical renaissance proper, a large number of illustrated herbariums was published. Botanists of all nationalities attempted to provide pictures as close to reality as possible, making use of professional artists for the drawing, engraving and water-colouring of the plates. The exhibition displays rare works of this nature, including the outstanding Hortus Eystetterensis by Basilius Besler, and attempts to illustrate the evolution in naturalistic and scientific knowledge, which was a fundamental step on the path to the development of modern science. By focusing too on artistic aspects, it is also an opportunity for comparison between cultures of different epochs and countries. The unusual and rare nature of the objects on display, which include incunabula, ancient botanic documents, and botanical collections, ensures that this is an exhibition suited to the public at large as well as specialists.

With its display of herbariums from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, the exhibition has particular reference to the therapeutic uses of plants, as well as considering bibliology, philology, iconology, taxonomy and other subjects. It attempts to offer a cross-section that covers the ground between medieval knowledge and modern science, Classical culture and experimental science, archaic representation and renaissance art.