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Art

Art

 

Exhibit items on the subject of art.

Exhibit Items

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.

Measuring the Heavens  Bayer, Johann (1661)

In contrast to Piccolomini, who omitted constellation figures in favor of scientific accuracy, Bayer superimposed constellation figures upon the star maps without compromising positional accuracy. These figures were artfully drawn by Alexander Mair.

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.

On the Fixed Stars  Piccolomini, Alessandro (1540)

In contrast to the constellation figures in Hyginus and Abu Ma’shar, Piccolomini created a star atlas, measuring the positions of the stars according to an indicated scale (specific to each plate). He designated stars by Roman letters (a, b, c, etc.) in order of apparent brightness.

Starry Messenger  Galileo,  (1610)

Featuring Galileo's Handwriting. When Galileo heard news of telescopes invented in the Netherlands he worked out the underlying geometry and crafted one of his own design. In this work, Galileo published the first observations of the heavens made with the telescope.

On the New Star in the Foot of the Serpent Handler  Kepler, Johann (1606)

Kepler’s star map shows the constellations of Ophiuchus (the Serpent Handler), Sagittarius and Scorpius. The Milky Way runs diagonally down from the left, and the “ecliptic,” or annual path of the Sun, runs horizontally through Sagittarius and Scorpius.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 1  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

Theater of Comets  Lubieniecki, Stanislaw (1666-68)

The search for comets, charged with astrological meaning, stimulated careful scrutiny and revision of maps of the stars. Lubieniecki collected an anthology of cometary reports, attempting to describe every known comet observed in Europe up to 1665.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 2  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

Works, Ptolemy  Ptolemy,  (1541)

For this first edition of Ptolemy’s collected works, Johann Honter drew constellation figures after the manner of Albrecht Dürer. The figures appear in contemporary dress rather than in a classical style.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 3  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 4  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

Map of the Moon  Hevelius, Johann (1647)

Accurate depiction of the topography of the Moon was accomplished by mid-century in this lunar atlas by Hevelius. It set a new standard for precision that remained unmatched for a century.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 5  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

New Celestial and Terrestrial Observations  Fontana, Francesco (1646)

Inspired by Galileo, Fontana constructed his own telescope, improving the optics. Around 1629 he began a series of detailed sketches of the face of the Moon. A series of 28 copperplate engravings reveal the Moon’s surface as perceived on different dates, as well as a fold-out lunar map.

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.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 6  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

The Moon  Nasmyth, James (1876)

Nasmyth, a Scottish engineer known for his invention of the steam hammer, combined an avid interest in astronomy and photography. Carpenter was an astronomer at the Greenwich Observatory. Together they constructed plaster models of the lunar surface.

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.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 7  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

The Optics of the Eye  Chérubin d’ Orléans,  (1671)

In this illustration, Chérubin d’Orléans adopted the lunar map of Hevelius. The putti are observing the Moon with telescopes equipped with the “pantograph,” a perspectival tool devised by d’Orléans.

Galileo Telescope replica ( )

The optics, leather and gold tooling of the telescope suggest how scientific instruments were crafted with a combination of engineering expertise and bookbinding arts. Galileo’s telescope included two lenses, an ocular lens near the eye, and an objective lens at the far end of the tube.

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.

The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 8  Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85)

Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli).

An Astronomical Catechism  Whitwell, Catherine (1818)

This dialogue between a mother and her daughter offers a delightful introduction to the night sky. It contains 23 engraved plates drawn by Whitwell herself, including four hand-colored folding plates.

The Firmament of King Sobiesci, or Map of the Heavens  Hevelius, Johann (1690)

The Uranographia of Hevelius, the most detailed and influential celestial atlas of the 17th century, contains 54 beautiful double-page engraved plates of 73 constellations, and 2 oversized folding plates of planispheres.

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.

Astronomical Poem  Hyginus,  (1485)

Greek writers compiled ancient stories of the constellations, often in poetic form, with memorable instructions for locating bright stars and zodiac constellations. Constellations of the zodiac contain the wandering courses of the planets and the annual path of the Sun.

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.

Celestial Atlas, 1729  Flamsteed, John (1729)

A globe maker for the French royal family, J. Fortin, prepared this edition of Flamsteed’s celestial atlas in a much reduced format. Flamsteed was the first Astronomer Royal, who oversaw the building of the Greenwich Observatory. Newton relied upon Flamsteed’s star positions in his Principia.

Urania's Mirror with A Familiar Treatise on Astronomy  Aspin, Jehoshaphat (1825)

Constellation figures remained popular in education, as in these constellation cards which make learning the constellations easy. The set includes 32 cards, each focused upon one or a few constellations.

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.

Celestial Globe Gores  Coronelli, Vincenzo (1693; reprint ca. 1800)

Coronelli, a Franciscan theologian and astronomer who worked in both Italy and France, was a founder of modern geography and an influential maker of celestial and terrestrial globes.

A Geographical Map of the Terraqueous Globe  Scherer, Heinrich (1700)

These are gores for a small geographical "pocket" globe.

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.

Essays of the Members of the Academy of Gelati (1671)

This is the scarce first edition of writings by a leading learned society in Bologna, the Accademia dei Gelati. The volume includes striking woodcuts by the astronomer Geminiano Montanari of white stars against a black background.

Preliminary Discourse for Astronomy  Hevelius, Johann (1690)

In the Prodromus, Hevelius explained the instruments and methods used to produce the star catalog. Hevelius’ Gdansk observatory, “Stellaburg,” was the best in Europe until the later national observatories of France and Britain.

Treasury of Optics  al-Haytham, Ibn (1572)

The frontispiece depicts a variety of optical phenomena: Reflection. Refraction. Perspective. The rainbow. Burning mirrors.

Map of the Heavens  Bode, Johann (1801)

This beautiful atlas fused artistic beauty and scientific precision.

0 Secret Book of the Quiver  Ise, Heizo Sadatake (ca. 1846)

Manuscript copy by Hajime Terai from original written in 1765 by Ise; illustrations copied by Odani.

1 On the Fabric of the Human Body, 1555  Vesalius, Andreas (1555)

This book is without doubt the most handsome anatomical work of the 16th century. Vesalius was fortunate to team up with Jan Stephan van Calcar, a world class artist. Even the human skeletons reveal an aesthetic appreciation of the human body.

1 Elements of Geometry, 1482  Euclid,  (1482)

Euclid was the starting point for a mathematical approach to physics. This is the 1st printed edition. The beautiful woodcuts are hand-colored in this copy. The text of the first page was printed in both black and red ink. The geometrical diagrams were quite difficult to prepare.

1 Chinese lion, George and Cecilia McGhee Collection

This Chinese lion is know as a Shi, or an imperial guardian lion. It was a symbol of protection and often placed in front of tombs, palaces, temples, and important homes

2 Anatomy, 1541  Luzzi, Mondino dei  (1541)

Art and anatomy converging in an illustrated manual: These human figures are more than utilitarian: walking against a real background, posed as if revealing to our eyes the unseen beauty and wonder of human anatomy; they also reflect an increasingly artistic approach to the human body.

2 The Advantages of Country Living  de’ Crescenzi, Pietro  (1471)

This is the earliest published work on agriculture, a manual for managing a feudal estate. It is an ancestor to the early printed herbals, and explains what plants one must cultivate to be able to make the common remedies.

3 On the Dissection of the Parts of the Human Body  Estienne, Charles (1545)

Clip art with woodblocks: Estienne obtained a number of woodblocks from an obscure artist. To show anatomical detail, he cut little rectangles out of the art woodblocks and substituted his own diagrammatic drawings.

4 On the Fabric of the Human Body, 1543  Vesalius, Andreas (1543)

Best known work of early modern anatomy: Vesalius was fortunate to team up with Jan Stephan van Calcar, a world class artist. Even the human skeletons reveal an aesthetic appreciation of the human body.

5 Correspondence  Vesalius, Andreas (1546)

ABC’s of the life of medical students: The decorative initials used in this edition of Vesalius’ correspondence are identical to 22 different initials originally printed in De fabrica (1543). Such “historiated initials” tell stories.

5 Celestial Atlas,1776  Flamsteed, John (1776)

A globe maker for the French royal family, J. Fortin, prepared this edition of Flamsteed’s celestial atlas in a much reduced format. Flamsteed was the first Astronomer Royal, who oversaw the building of the Greenwich Observatory. Newton relied upon Flamsteed’s star positions in his Principia.

6 Atlas of the Stars  Bode, Johann (1782)

Bode created a new constellation, Herschels Teleskop, near Auriga, to honor William Herschel’s discovery of Uranus in 1781. This Bode-Fortin-Flamsteed atlas is a 1782 German edition of Fortin’s 1776 reprinting of Flamsteed’s 1729 atlas.

7 Anatomical Illustrations  Eustachi, Bartolomeo (1716)

Lost plates for treatises on teeth, hearing and the kidneys, rediscovered: In the 1560’s, Eustachi, a professor of medicine in the Collegia della Sapienza in Rome, wrote several treatises devoted to particular organs of the body, including a pioneering work on the teeth.

7 The Herball, 1597  Gerard, John (1597)

Gerard, an estate manager for Queen Elizabeth’s chief executive, was in contact with naturalists around the world who sent him both plants and soil to grow them in. The first illustration of the “Virginia potato” appears in this volume.

8 The Caterpillar Garden  Merian, Maria Sybilla (1717)

Merian, an artist and naturalist, studied the relationships between flowers and insects; she also bred her own insects for this purpose. She was particularly interested in metamorphosis.

9 Treatise on Painting  da Vinci, Leonardo (1716)

Despite a lack of publications, Leonardo’s fame grew as word of his notebooks spread. The first work by Leonardo to be printed was his Treatise on Painting, published a century after his death. That 1651 Italian edition is on display at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Spring 2016.

10 The Elements of Euclid  ,  (1847)

Color-coded, graphical proofs occur in this masterpiece of visual presentation and design. Text is dramatically reduced in favor of a strategy of visual thinking.

11 Mathematical Works  Stevin, Simon (1634)

Stevin’s work represents that of a scientist-engineer in the Low Countries, whose major works appeared in Dutch. Like the scientist-engineers of Italy, Stevin maintained water systems and improved fortifications. He investigated the mechanics of motion, falling bodies and hydraulics.

13 On Perspective  Monte, Guidobaldo del (1600)

Kepler, Galileo and Guidobaldo were the leading optical theorists of their generation. Galileo studied with Guidobaldo while he was composing this treatise.

14 Biblical Sciences  Scheuchzer, Johann Jakob (1728)

Biblical accounts of the creation week, deluge, and future conflagration provided early modern naturalists with an idiom for exploring changes in the Earth over time. Scheuchzer was a leading Swiss naturalist and an advocate for the organic origin of fossils.

15 Living Anatomy  von Hellwig, Christoph (1720)

Four leaves of colored, interactive anatomical flaps appear throughout this popular anatomical textbook, which recapitulates the combination of art, engineering and anatomy in Galileo’s world.

15 Illustrations of the Bible  Hoet, Gerard (1728)

Conventions of biblical illustration interacted with scientific investigation, each influencing and shaping the other. According to contemporary interpretations of the six days of creation, mountains formed on the 3rd day when the dry land was separated from the sea.

18 Book of the Arrow  Nobutoyo,  (ca. 1846)

Galileo’s mechanics demonstrated that projectiles follow a parabolic path. This is true whether the projectile is a cannonball, an arrow or a football. This set of four Japanese Samurai manuscripts, drawn on rice paper in the mid 1800’s, was copied by hand from mid-16th-century sources.

19 Book of Leggings  Nobutoyo,  (ca. 1846)

Galileo’s mechanics demonstrated that projectiles follow a parabolic path. This is true whether the projectile is a cannonball, an arrow or a football. This set of four Japanese Samurai manuscripts, drawn on rice paper in the mid 1800’s, was copied by hand from mid-16th-century sources.

20 Secret Book of Hunger for the Target  Ise, Heizo Sadatake (ca. 1846)

Galileo’s mechanics demonstrated that projectiles follow a parabolic path. This is true whether the projectile is a cannonball, an arrow or a football. This set of four Japanese Samurai manuscripts, drawn on rice paper in the mid 1800’s, was copied by hand from mid-16th-century sources.