Jennifer Culbert: Still Life: Natural Law and the Art of Man
Saturday | June 21, 2025 | 11:15-12:00
Venue: Lounge in the University Library, Steubenstraße 6, 99423 Weimar
Abstract:
My talk/presentation is about natural law. To narrow the scope, I focus on the discussion of natural law in Thomas Hobbes’ LEVIATHAN. In the introduction to LEVIATHAN, Hobbes defines nature as “the Art whereby God hath made and governes the World.” Drawing on this definition, I examine Hobbes’ presentation of JUS NATURALE, the right of nature, and LEX NATURALIS, the laws of nature, as a representation of a work of art. Rather than interpret Hobbes’ text with reference to the famous frontispiece he designed for the book, I look to the genre of still life (STILLLEBEN) and offer readings of several different paintings from the period when LEVIATHAN was published to examine Hobbes’ reflections on God’s creation and the Art of Man that copies it.