Introduction

The early modern period was broadly characterized by burgeoning maritime trade and overseas exploration and colonization as well as a print revolution which enriched European understandings of foreign areas. Expansive Eurasian trade networks predated this period, although increased interactions with the Americas from the late 15th and early 16th centuries led to an influx of foreign animals and goods into Europe either through their physical bodies, engravings and drawings, or communication between intellectuals, artists, and elite circles. They then became symbols of the shifting ideas of race as well as of power of the nation-state. The Scientific Revolution from the middle of the 16th century to the 17th century coincided with the uptick in trade and importation of foreign flora and fauna which gave rise to an interest in botany as well which is demonstrated in papercut flowers and engravings. Continued and flourishing interactions with the East led to the development of chinoiserie which manifested itself in paintings and ceramics. Communication within Europe as well through the Republic of Letters disseminated scientific information and was recorded through paintings. This exhibit tracks cross cultural exchange between the late 16th through 18th century and how ideas and discoveries from those encounters manifested themselves in art forms. 

**This project does not attempt to reflect all the ways in which cross cultural interactions influenced art (like the slave trade). It also spans many European countries, so it looks at very broad trends during this time.