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Online Talk · Exploring Cabinets of Curiosity: Art, Science, Colonialism, and Cataloguing the Natural World with Artist Kate Samworth
7pm ET (NYC time)
Monday, XX, 2026
PLEASE NOTE: A link to a recording of this talk will be sent out to ticket holders after its conclusion. It will also be archived for our Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticket holders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanayomy.org. A temporary streaming link will be emailed after the event concludes.
Gallstones, narwhal tusks, and conjoined sheep might be found alongside a saint’s tooth, a sextant, and a ceremonial cup in a cabinet of curiosities of the Renaissance. Humans had long amassed collections of rarities, but the frenzied collecting of natural and man-made objects was a primary occupation of 16th century nobility, aristocrats, merchants, apothecaries, and natural philosophers.
They (or their intermediaries) scoured the local landscapes, ports, and other continents for animal, mineral, and vegetal specimens of all kinds and took them in any form available- dead or alive; pickled, stuffed, dried; whole or partial; real or fake.
Just as desirable were the emblems of human capabilities, customs, cultures, and spirituality. Religious relics, ancient coins, crafts, costumes, scientific tools, and ceremonial objects made up an essential part of any serious collector’s display.
These agglomerations, the precursor to modern museums, were too vast to be contained in a piece of furniture- they filled entire rooms, even entire wings. The most extensive included living specimens. Botanical gardens and menageries were established at universities and on castle grounds throughout Europe.
What drove this impulse to amass, arrange, display, and celebrate all of these marvels of natural and human creation? For some, these displays of wealth and access connoted taste and intellect and could serve as spaces for discussion and entertainment. For others, they provided opportunities for spiritual contemplation.
Natural philosophers used the gathering and arrangement of natural objects to study the connections between organic beings and find order in the natural world. By examining the relationships between natural forms, they provided the foundation of modern science.
In this brief introduction to the art of natural history, we’ll consider the ways that the spice trade, the Greco-Arabic translation movement, and the printing press influenced the hearts and minds of Renaissance artists and scientists. Examination of some paintings, prints, and drawings of the era will reveal the scientific, artistic, social, political, economic, and religious motives behind their creation. And we’ll discuss the challenges that arose as naturalists of the 16th century attempted to sort fact from fiction in depictions of the natural world.
Kate Samworth is an artist/illustrator and educator (RISD, Peabody Museum of Natural History, PA Academy of the Fine Arts, and more). Her work has been exhibited around the country and appeared in multiple magazines. She has illustrated a number of books for children and adults (including her own Kirkus Prize winning Aviary Wonders Inc. and the NYT best-seller Why Fish Don't Exist by Radio Lab host Lulu Miller).
Her artwork is inspired by observing micro and macro changes to the natural world and reflects her interest in folktales and surrealism. She works primarily on scratchboard, which involves removing a layer of black ink to reveal the white clay beneath. The choice of medium allows for delicate lines and precise details and is related to her background in printmaking.
She is represented by Le Mieux Gallery in New Orleans, LA. Info on her art, prints, and classes can be found at katesamworth.com
7pm ET (NYC time)
Monday, XX, 2026
PLEASE NOTE: A link to a recording of this talk will be sent out to ticket holders after its conclusion. It will also be archived for our Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticket holders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanayomy.org. A temporary streaming link will be emailed after the event concludes.
Gallstones, narwhal tusks, and conjoined sheep might be found alongside a saint’s tooth, a sextant, and a ceremonial cup in a cabinet of curiosities of the Renaissance. Humans had long amassed collections of rarities, but the frenzied collecting of natural and man-made objects was a primary occupation of 16th century nobility, aristocrats, merchants, apothecaries, and natural philosophers.
They (or their intermediaries) scoured the local landscapes, ports, and other continents for animal, mineral, and vegetal specimens of all kinds and took them in any form available- dead or alive; pickled, stuffed, dried; whole or partial; real or fake.
Just as desirable were the emblems of human capabilities, customs, cultures, and spirituality. Religious relics, ancient coins, crafts, costumes, scientific tools, and ceremonial objects made up an essential part of any serious collector’s display.
These agglomerations, the precursor to modern museums, were too vast to be contained in a piece of furniture- they filled entire rooms, even entire wings. The most extensive included living specimens. Botanical gardens and menageries were established at universities and on castle grounds throughout Europe.
What drove this impulse to amass, arrange, display, and celebrate all of these marvels of natural and human creation? For some, these displays of wealth and access connoted taste and intellect and could serve as spaces for discussion and entertainment. For others, they provided opportunities for spiritual contemplation.
Natural philosophers used the gathering and arrangement of natural objects to study the connections between organic beings and find order in the natural world. By examining the relationships between natural forms, they provided the foundation of modern science.
In this brief introduction to the art of natural history, we’ll consider the ways that the spice trade, the Greco-Arabic translation movement, and the printing press influenced the hearts and minds of Renaissance artists and scientists. Examination of some paintings, prints, and drawings of the era will reveal the scientific, artistic, social, political, economic, and religious motives behind their creation. And we’ll discuss the challenges that arose as naturalists of the 16th century attempted to sort fact from fiction in depictions of the natural world.
Kate Samworth is an artist/illustrator and educator (RISD, Peabody Museum of Natural History, PA Academy of the Fine Arts, and more). Her work has been exhibited around the country and appeared in multiple magazines. She has illustrated a number of books for children and adults (including her own Kirkus Prize winning Aviary Wonders Inc. and the NYT best-seller Why Fish Don't Exist by Radio Lab host Lulu Miller).
Her artwork is inspired by observing micro and macro changes to the natural world and reflects her interest in folktales and surrealism. She works primarily on scratchboard, which involves removing a layer of black ink to reveal the white clay beneath. The choice of medium allows for delicate lines and precise details and is related to her background in printmaking.
She is represented by Le Mieux Gallery in New Orleans, LA. Info on her art, prints, and classes can be found at katesamworth.com