The Engaged Visitor and the Limits of Ekphrasis: From Kunstkammer Accounts to Daniel Papebroch’s Travelogue
In conjunction with my research on a commissioned book on early modern Kunstkammern in the German-speaking lands, I became intrigued by what visitors’ accounts tell us or do not tell us about their experiences touring major art and wonder chambers around 1600. These texts range from lengthy lists by Philipp Hainhofer, the Augsburg merchant, to briefer letters or travel diary entries by nobles (or their secretaries) sometimes on the grand tour. Records of their stops in the Kunstkammern in Munich, Dresden, and Schloss Ambras by Innsbruck, among others, offer insights into the sorts of objects that attracted their attention and their descriptive language. The most commonly referenced works suggest that the guardians of these collections developed fairly standard tours in which they highlighted certain things. The exercise reminded me of Daniel Papebroch’s marvelous travelogue of his 1660-61 journey through Germany and Austria to Italy. The young Flemish Jesuit was part of the Bollandists’ Acta Sanctorum project. He and his fellow travelers stopped in many towns and monasteries as they searched for any hagiographic records. I shall compare his descriptions of a few of the places he visited with the sorts of language and information that characterize the Kunstkammer visits.
