Albertus Seba Art

Albertus Seba (Born in 1665) decided to apprentice as a pharmacist while he was still a young man. His decision proved valuable, both for science and for him. He familiarized himself with medicinal plants, and took an interest in other natural phenomena, including insects, mollusks, birds, mammals, and snakes - his apparent favorite. He became very successful as an apothecary and this afforded him the opportunity to pursue collecting which was his real passion. Around the 17th and 18th centuries, the pharmacy practice could only be learnt through apprenticeship in a variety of locations and not through books. After he completed his training, he settled in Amsterdam. Seba's taste was very specific, and his collection was characterized as material related to biodiversity: spirit-preserved snakes, bugs, mollusks and other sea life from the shallows. By 1717, his collection was varied and big and it attracted the attention of Peter the Great, who decided to buy his specimens. Seba started to build an even bigger collection. This second collection, along with a few specimens that he obtained from others, formed the basis for “Thesaurus”, which was his next big project. To produce quality work, Seba engaged many engravers and artists and also employed an assistant writer in this expensive and massive effort. The effort resulted in 446 sizeable plates, spread out over four separate books. Today, quite a number of his works are availed as framed Albertus Seba art. He used to produce mirror images of the illustrations in the engraving process.