Science and culture for members only : the Amsterdam Zoo Artis in the nineteenth century

The Amsterdam zoo Artis was recognized as the preeminent cultural center of the city for much of the nineteenth century. Donna Mehos here examines the exclusive nature of Artis and how the Amsterdam middle class utilized it to cultivate a culture of science that would reflect well on the nation and its capital. This volume offers a fascinating study of the role of science in the development of Dutch national and class identities during a period of national and colonial expansion. What role did science play in nineteenth-century Dutch cultural life? This fascinating slice-of-cultural-life book unveils the significance of Artis as both a scientific center and the cultural hub of the city. It links exhibits of exotic animals and colonial artifacts, concerts, scientific research, and social exclusion to the rise of national consciousness among nineteenth-century Dutch middle classes. The author highlights Dutch society and its efforts to display colonial wealth before it supported what is traditionally seen as high culture. Artis flourished with the help of significant private funding at a time when monumental institutions such as museums and concert halls had yet to appear on the Dutch cultural landscape. Artis was a private institution open to members only that held an unprecedented pride of place in Dutch society. What role did science play in nineteenth-century Dutch cultural life? This fascinating slice-of-cultural life book unveils the significance of Artis as both a scientific center and the cultural hub of the city. It links exhibits of exotic animals and colonial artifacts, concerts, scientific research, and social exclusion to the rise of national consciousness among nineteenth-century Dutch middle classes. The author highlights Dutch society and its efforts to display colonial wealth before it supported what is traditionally seen as high culture. Artis flourished with the help of significant private funding at a time when monumental institutions such as museums and concert halls had yet to appear on the Dutch cultural landscape. Artis was a private institution open to members only that held an unprecedented pride of place in Dutch society In de negentiende eeuw was de Amsterdamse dierentuin Artis hét culturele centrum van de stad. Bezoekers slenterden door de dierentuin zelf, het natuurhistorisch museum of het etnografisch museum. En ze bezochten er concerten van de belangrijkste orkesten uit die tijd in de exclusieve zoölogische sociëteit. De gegoede burgerij cultiveerde natuurhist Bron: Flaptekst, uitgeversinformatie

A study of the role of Amsterdam's Artis Zoo and the range of the cultural events it offered in the formation of the national and class identity in the nineteenth-century Netherlands