Sietske Fransen

Sietske Fransen is a researcher and group leader at the Bibliotheca Hertziana - Max Planck Institute for Art History, focusing on the intersection of early modern science, medicine, and visual culture. She holds a PhD in History of Science from the Warburg Institute and has held postdoctoral positions at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and the University of Cambridge.

• Education: Biology and Medieval Studies (Utrecht University), MA and PhD in History of Science (Warburg Institute, London)

Her research explores how scientific and medical knowledge was visualized and communicated in the 16th–17th centuries, particularly through diagrams, manuscripts, and print. She is also investigating the impact of digital media on historical research through her group.

Key projects include Visualizing Science in Media Revolutions and Visualizing the Unknown, with collaborative work on microscopy, translation practices, and media change. She has edited Translating Early Modern Science and co-edited a forthcoming special issue on copying practices in early modern knowledge production.

• Editorial Roles:
  • Member, Nuncius Series (Brill) since 2024
  • Member, Notes and Records (Royal Society) since 2023
  • Member, NUNCIUS (Journal of Material and Visual Culture of Science) since 2020
  • Member, Lias (Journal of Early Modern Intellectual Culture) since 2019