ISSN:
1573-0794
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
Notes:
Abstract We discuss rare early depictions of the Moon by artists whoactually observed Earth's nearest neighbor rather than relying on stylized formulas. The earliest, from the 14th and 15th centuries, reveal that revolutionary advances in both pre-telescopic astronomy and naturalistic painting could go hand-in-hand. This link suggests that when painters observed the world, their definition of world could also include the heavensand the Moon. Many of the artists we discuss – e.g., Pietro Lorenzetti, Giotto, and Jan Van Eyck – actually studied the Moon, incorporating their studies into several works. We also consider the star map on the dome over the altar in the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo, Florence (c. 1442), whose likely advisor was Toscanelli. In addition, we examine representations by artists whopainted for Popes Julius II and Leo X – Raphael and Sebastiano del Piombo, both of whom were influenced by individuals at the papal court, such as the astronomer, painter, and cartographer Johann (Giovanni) Ruysch and Leonardo da Vinci. We also discuss Leonardo's pre-telescopic notes and lunar drawings as they impacted on art and science in Florence, where Galileo would studyperspective and chiaroscuro. Galileo's representations of the Moon (engraved in his Sidereus Nuncius, 1610) are noted, togetherwith those by Harriot and Galileo's friend, the painter Cigoli. During the 17th century, the Moon's features were telescopically mappedby astronomers with repercussions in art, e.g., paintings by Donati Creti and Raimondo Manzini as well as Adam Elsheimer.Ending with a consideration of the 19th-century artists/astronomers John Russell and John Brett and early lunar photography, we demonstrate that artistic and scientific visual acuity belonged to the burgeoning empiricism of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries that eventually yielded modern observational astronomy.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1017092621973
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