ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an analysis of the contents and arrangement of Boucher's cabinet of natural history in his studio at the Louvre. Drawing on first-hand accounts and period records, it shows how the Cabinet functioned as a cerebral space that provided Boucher with a place to indulge his passion for natural history and as a site of sociability, where he discussed his ideas with like-minded collectors. Through analysis of the period responses to his Cabinet, this chapter argues that Boucher's knowledge of natural history, combined with his artistic expertise, led him to create innovative arrangements that explored the relationships between art and nature in ways that were recognized by his peers as containing the signature of the artist.
