Natural History

This collection reveals how people have expressed their wonder at nature in print, manuscript, pen drawings and watercolours. Here the emphasis lies on the period 1500 to 1900, a timespan during which science and art developed increasingly rapidly. Humankind’s view of the world was renewed. This collection magnificently illuminates these changing ideas.

Artis

The core of the collection consists of the former library of Natura Artis Magistra (Nature is the master of art), the Amsterdam society founded in 1838 and better known as Artis. The collection passed into the possession of the University of Amsterdam in 1939 and is still housed in the purpose-built library.