Nature and Art

The relationship between art and nature came under scrutiny in chapter seven. The authors discussed the relationship prior to the seventeenth century as completely different than that during the seventeenth century. Art came to mimic nature, as evident in the most intricate of displays, such as the cabinet discussed in the first part of the chapter. However, nature could not be found in art. This was a great departure from earlier thought, as both were found to be completely separate and inimitable entities. One of the most interesting sections was then the close of the chapter, in which the authors suggest that later naturalists thought that simple works of nature could never be considered art. Nature was created by God, and could never be considered art in its own right.