On the heels of the Venice Biennale, the Palazzo Grimani Museum presents an exhibition that combines objects and illustrations from the British George Loudon Collection of 19th-century life sciences with art on loan from international museums, cultural institutions and private collectors Objects and artefacts as well as works paired from the Palazzo Grimani collection. “Cabinet of Curiosities: A Celebration of Natural Art” even reconstructs a 17th-century Wunderkammer, better known as the Cabinet of Curiosities, which may have been filled with miniature crocodiles, bottled herbs, archaeological finds and pressed flowers that were first used in the 16th century First popular in Europe. Despite its narrowly defined title, the palatial palace’s exhibitions are spread across multiple rooms, including chapels, dining rooms, neoclassical rooms, and more.
Small nooks and tables scattered throughout the museum display neatly arranged simulated learning equipment. In a small room, anatomical sculptures of skeletons, hearts and skulls hang on the walls. Next, paintings and other artwork hang from floor to ceiling, alongside items as diverse as shells, vases, and goblets.
The author of Loudon is Physical Course: Visualizing the Life Sciences in the Nineteenth Century He was a collector of 19th-century scientific artifacts, many of which he acquired during his travels. For more than two decades, he collected not only contemporary art but also medical illustrations and scientific models, including works by Charles Darwin, naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace and zoologist Ernst Haeckel’s work.
He began collecting life science artifacts in earnest in 2004, when he discovered Harvard University’s “Glass Flowers,” also known as the Blaschka Glass Plant Model Collection, which the university established in 1886 under Professor George Lincoln Goodell. Lincoln Goodale commissioned art collection. The models were made between 1887 and 1936 by father-and-son glass artists Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, who lived and worked in Germany.
See also: Rare medical books from Eugene S. Flamm’s collection coming to Christie’s
Loudon’s interest was piqued, and he then tried to find other similar curiosities hiding in plain sight. He visited the collections of more than 50 different universities and museums around the world, discovering rare and hidden treasures handcrafted by anonymous craftsmen whose works represent the crossroads of science, art, and 19th-century education.
On display in the “Cabinet of Miracles” are chosen story (Physical Curriculum) by M. Pitoiset for French primary schools and a selection of Blaschka glass models of plants, as well as Japanese globes and Italian wax models of plants and fruits. These finely crafted works are examples of innovations that emerged in the 19th century, such as nature printing and early photographic methods such as cyanotype.
Of course, there are also Italian works of art in the exhibition. Highlights include paintings by Jacopo Robusti (known as Tintoretto), Adam and Eve in the presence of God A portrait from the 16th century, as well as a portrait of Archbishop Giovanni Grimani from the early 17th century by the same artist. Here you will find unprecedented works by Venetian icons such as Titian and Veronese. Nearby are 19th-century anatomy figures—relics of the era, to be sure, but also works of art.
Here, Loudoun’s extraordinary collection is presented for the first time as an art installation. “George Loudon’s insatiable curiosity about the natural and scientific world soon led him to discover the beauty and magic in the objects and illustrations of the 19th-century life sciences,” curator Thierry Morel ) wrote. “In this journey through the landscape, artifacts emerge from their shadowy origins, breaking free from their utilitarian past to reveal themselves as exquisite works of art, radiating with unexpected poetry.”
Loudon is one of the few art collectors seriously involved in 19th-century life science illustrations and models. When industrially produced versions eventually replace them, handcrafted originals are often left gathering dust in museum storage rooms, unless they find their way into popular culture. But these illustrations and models are works of art, a celebration of a long-lost craft, and proof that collecting art doesn’t always mean collecting paintings.
“Cabinet of Miracles: A Celebration of Nature’s Art” will be on display at the Palazzo Grimani Museum until May 11, 2025.
