Visualising Icebergs: Early Modern Depictions, ca 1570–1770

Polar ice posed the principal obstacle to early modern Arctic explorers – impenetrable barriers and unpredictable forces capable of crushing a ship in an instant. Yet it was also a natural phenomenon that captivated both seafarers and natural philosophers. Authors of travelogues developed rhetorical and visual strategies to convey their encounters with the awe-inspiring ice. This study examines visual representations of icebergs from the 1570s to the 1770s. A selection of engravings and artworks is analysed within the intersecting contexts of polar exploration, scientific discourse and visual culture. This perspective sheds light on both aesthetic and epistemological aspects of the Arctic as a mediated phenomenon in the early modern period. The investigation also highlights the growing importance of visual representations of the natural world during the early modern period.