An Artful Observation of the Cosmos
Galileo and Perspective
When Galileo peered look through his telescope and discovered mountains on the Moon, he did so because he was seeing with the eyes of an artist. Contemporaries without artistic training were not able to see what Galileo saw. His training as an artist allowed him to perceive light and shadow in a way other astronomers could not.
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The Great Art of Light and Shadow Kircher, Athanasius (1646) A “camera obscura” (“dark room”) consists of a box or container in which light enters via a small hole and projects an image on an opposite wall. The image will be reversed and upside-down, but its proportions will be preserved. |
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Elements of Geometry, 1570 Euclid, (1570) Euclid was the starting point for any further study of optics and perspective. Optics combined geometry, experiment, vision and art. In the presentation of the geometrical solids, this copy retains the original pop-ups. |
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Moral Essays Alberti, Leon Battista (1568) This anthology of the works of Alberti, a humanist scholar, contains the printed edition of his treatise, “On Painting,” a work he originally dedicated to Brunelleschi. |
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Perspective Peckham, John (1556) The Perspectiva of Peckham (13th century) became the established university textbook on perspective. It was the text Galileo likely used in his early studies of optics. Renaissance artists were well-versed in the classic works on perspective. |
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Principles of Geometry Dürer, Albrecht (1535) This landmark work by Albrecht Dürer presents several variations on the technique of “Alberti’s window.” Here the artist is creating a drawing of a lute with true perspective by means of a string drawn from the object, through the canvas window, to the vanishing point on the wall. |
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The Curiosities of Perspective Nicéron, Jean François (1663) While visiting Florence, Niceron was shown a unique perspective drawing tool devised by the painter Cigoli, one of Galileo’s friends. He viewed examples of anamorphic drawing techniques and Alberti’s perspective boxes. All of these make an appearance in this treatise. |
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The Divine Proportion Pacioli, Luca (1509) Consider this geometrical drawing, portrayed with true perspective and a mastery of light and shadow. It comes from a treatise on art and mathematics by Luca Pacioli, yet it was not drawn by Pacioli. |
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The Practice of Perspective Sirigatti, Lorenzo (1596) This beautiful work by Sirigatti, published in 1596, brings the tradition of perspective drawing up to Galileo’s time. Sirigatti was a member of the Academy of Drawing (Accademia del Disegno), a school for artists and engineers where Galileo studied as a young man. |
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Treasury of Optics al-Haytham, Ibn (1572) The frontispiece depicts a variety of optical phenomena: Reflection. Refraction. Perspective. The rainbow. Burning mirrors. |
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Treatise on Painting da Vinci, Leonardo (1651) Despite a lack of publications, Leonardo’s fame grew as word of his notebooks spread. The first book by Leonardo to be printed was his Treatise on Painting, published a century after his death. |
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Works… A New Science Tartaglia, Niccolo (1606) Niccolò Tartaglia argued for the use of mathematics in physics, engineering and art. Tartaglia’s frontispiece shows Euclid guarding the gate of knowledge. Just inside, Perspectiva stands among the sciences that open the way to Philosophia. |
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