Ruysch/ exhibition














Exhibition
Minerva, Groningen
2013

Travel and research project; solo exhibition of four large drawings, three medium-sized drawings and one wall drawing.

These works are interpretations my findings after traveling to the Baltic countries and Russia.

The drawing 'Curiouser I' is directly based on a specimen from the Ruysch collection, after one of the studies I was allowed to draw there. This brown, shriveled, mummified infant was recently 'rediscovered' as being the last surviving piece of Dutch anatomist Frederik Ruysch's (1638-1731) dry specimens. It was identified by its floral crown. Almost 1000 wet specimens still exist, but the dry 'vanitas tableaus' were thought to be completely lost. By making it a large drawing, executed in vivid colors, the specimen regains a small part of its once-famous lifelikeness.

The other drawings are abstract drawings, partly based on photos taken in medical collections.

Many thanks to the Kunstkamera Museum in St Petersburg, and the anatomical collections of Vilnius, Kaunas, Tartu and Riga, and to Academie Minerva for making it happen. With special thanks to Willem Mulder, who made the discovery of the floral crown and who has been of great help throughout the project.
Location: the domed hall of Minerva, Groningen, 17 - 31 january 2013
Photography: Jelle de Groot, Henrike Scholten

© 2022
Henrike Scholten