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Devices of Wonder

Artists as Scientists



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Leonardo da Vinci was better known as a scientist than artist in his own time. He studied the anatomy of corpses, designed a helicopter, and was a well-known engineer of military devices.

In fact, many of the revolutionary scientific developments of the Renaissance and the Age of Reason came from artists. Artists studied anatomy, performing some of the first dissections of human corpses, in order to understand the structure and movement of the human body. An understanding of chemistry was crucial since artists before the late 19th century had to mix their own paint from natural pigments and oils. Early photographers were also chemists who understood the science of optics and experimented to find a chemical way to fix an image onto glass or paper.

Changing Status of the Artist — Can you think of any artists today who are known for their scientific creations? Artists created scientific inventions and decorated many of the objects in the exhibition. They gained social status by doing so. Has the scientific aspect of an artist's work changed since before the 20th century?

Ornamentation — Scientific objects often had ornate decoration like the baroque microscope in Devices of Wonder. Why do you think they did this? Do you think the aesthetic appearance is taken into account when scientific instruments are designed today? Can you think of any technology in your home or school that is decorated or designed by artists? Do you think this aesthetic aspect of the object is important?

The Scientist-Artist — Artists in the past knew chemistry and anatomy. Do you think it is possible to be an artist today without knowing science? Why?