Natura immaginata, natura illustrata. Erbari miniati e trattati botanici come laboratori della complessità (Essay Review)

Long subordinated to medicine and pharmacology, studies on the properties and behaviour of plants only gained a separate epistemological space at the end of the 16th century. Of this arduous and controversial path, illustrated herbaria offer a rich and fascinating documentation on which the exhibition Rara Herbaria (2023) suggested interesting insights. The quality of the specimens on display, partly from Peter Goop’s collection and partly selected from the Lincean collection of the Biblioteca Corsiniana, highlighted the relevance of these ‘complex devices’ in terms of cultural history for understanding the relationship between man and nature in early modern Europe.