Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Oil painting by J. Verkolje, 1686. Inv P07252

Van Leeuwenhoek is depicted here with a number of attributes which emphasise his capacity as a scientific researcher. The most important of these is lying on the table beside his right elbow. It is the charter with the wax seal of the Royal Society in London. The Royal Society was the leading society of the day and in 1680 had invited Van Leeuwenhoek to become a member. Anyway there was already a close contact between Van Leeuwenhoek en de Royal Society. Van Leeuwenhoek announced the majority of his observations to the world through letters sent to the secretary of the Royal Society. The latter than ensured that the letter was included in English translation in the society's journal, the Philosophical Transactions.