Abstract
The contribution interprets representations of the beach by the Flemish painter Jan van Kessel the Elder as iconographic constructs. The discussed paintings show the beach as habitat for numerous exotic animals. After explaining their derivation of the composition from prints of around 1600, these depictions of the beach are contextualized within early modern trade as well as the European culture of collecting. For both, animals as depicted on beaches by van Kessel were of high relevance. Subsequently, the paper identifies relevant motifs van Kessel took from publications of natural history. By representing the variety of exotic maritime fauna, van Kessel’s paintings reflect the contemporary European perception of the foreign; in the seemingly precise depiction of an encyclopedic multitude of creatures, they show painting as a medium of scientific insight and, thus, contribute to a better social standing of artists in seventeenth- century Flanders.
