Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery - Tapa dura

A true feast for anyone interested in natural history, this marvelous book makes the underappreciated artworks of a passionate, talented group widely accessible. --Publishers Weekly

The Age of Discovery, the 15th through the 18th centuries, give rise to magnificent exploits and explorations of art, science and ideas. Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery is a rich testament to that heady period [...] artworks are elegantly interspersed through the text and comprise a wonder of visual delights: full colour plates (enlivened by Attenborough's arcane, amusing commentary) and figures of plants, insects and animals ranging from Leonardo's anatomical studies of horses and bears to Merian's pioneering depictions of insects and plants in the South American Dutch colony of Suriname [...] In today's world, imperilled as it is with threats of global warming and loss of various species, this stunningly beautiful book is a masterful tribute and a wake up call. --Alison Hood, Bookpage

The great voyages of discovery of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries brought European artists face-toface with new and exotic plants and animals, and created an intense interest in the way nature was investigated and recorded. In Amazing Rare Things, Sir David Attenborough explores the history of natural history. With expert curators from the Royal Library, he examines the contributions of four great artists and one pre-eminent collector to this era of extraordinary scientific advances. Beautifully illustrated with a selection of exquisite drawings and watercolours by Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander Marshal, Maria Sibylla Merian and Mark Catesby; and with works collected by Cassiano dal Pozzo, this book examines the engagement between art and nature, from Renaissance Italy to the New World of the Americas. This unique and fascinating book shines a light on the role of artists in our exploration of the natural world.