Eye for detail : images of plants and animals in art and science, 1500-1630

Title:

Author:

Egmond, Florike author.

ISBN:

9781780236407

Personal Author:

Egmond, Florike author.

Physical Description:

280 pages : color illustrations ; 26 cm

Contents:

Introduction -- Part I. Nature captured. Green fashion : painted naturalia in collections -- Organizing nature : painted albums as collections -- In and out of order -- Part II. Untrue to life. Persuasive high definition -- Rendering for recognition -- Zoom : relevant detail in the visual study of nature -- Part III. Micro before the microscope. Minute observation -- Visual dissection -- Conclusion.

Abstract:

Image-transforming techniques such as close-up, time lapse, and layering are generally associated with the age of photography, but as Florike Egmond shows in this book, they were already being used half a millennium ago. Exploring the world of natural history drawings from the Renaissance, 'Eye for Detail' shows how the function of identification led to image manipulation techniques that will look uncannily familiar to the modern viewer. Egmond shows how the format of images in nature studies changed dramatically during the Renaissance period, as high-definition naturalistic representation became the rule during a robust output of plant and animal drawings. She examines what visual techniques like magnification can tell us about how early modern Europeans studied and ordered living nature, and she focuses on how attention to visual detail was motivated by an overriding question: the secret of the origins of life. Beautifully and precisely illustrated throughout, this volume serves as an arresting guide to the massive European collections of nature drawings and an absorbing study of natural history art of the sixteenth century.

BISAC Subject:

Art / Subject

Subject Term:

Natural history illustration -- History.

Natural history -- In art -- History.

Animals in art -- History.

Plants in art -- History.

Scientific illustration -- History.

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Format	Library	Call Number	Status
Book	Searching... Main Library	741 Egm	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Image-transforming techniques such as close-up, time lapse, and layering are generally associated with the age of photography, but as Florike Egmond shows in this book, they were already being used half a millennium ago. Exploring the world of natural history drawings from the Renaissance, Eye for Detail shows how the function of identification led to image manipulation techniques that will look uncannily familiar to the modern viewer.

Egmond shows how the format of images in nature studies changed dramatically during the Renaissance period, as high-definition naturalistic representation became the rule during a robust output of plant and animal drawings. She examines what visual techniques like magnification can tell us about how early modern Europeans studied and ordered living nature, and she focuses on how attention to visual detail was motivated by an overriding question: the secret of the origins of life. Beautifully and precisely illustrated throughout, this volume serves as an arresting guide to the massive European collections of nature drawings and an absorbing study of natural history art of the sixteenth century.

Author Notes

Florike Egmond is a cultural historian and researcher at the University of Leiden. She lives in Rome.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

This is truly a gorgeous book, with a well-written narrative and numerous, well-selected illustrations. Several of the illustrations, drawings, and paintings will be familiar to readers, but most will not. Egmond (Univ. of Leiden, Netherlands) researched many collections, some of which have never appeared in print. The work proficiently explores historical periods of collecting exotic animals and plants that were added to wealthy collectors' cabinets. Yet for many, the next level of collecting involved unique illustrations of the objects. A wide variety of media were used in the original illustrations--in some cases, trying to achieve true naturalism with significant freedom of expression. The book is organized into sections pertaining to whether the material is true to life or grotesque and monstrous. Often, the original works of art consisted of a single piece, including bits of once-live material--almost like a scrapbook. The paintings are truly works of art, and very few were designed to be printed. It is fortunate that so much of the material presented here has survived. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Francis W. Yow, Kenyon College

Introduction	p. 6
Part I Nature Captured	p. 21
1 Green Fashion: Painted Naturalia in Collections	p. 22
2 Organizing Nature: Painted Albums as Collections	p. 49
3 In and Out of Order	p. 68
Part II Untrue to Life	p. 87
4 Persuasive High Definition	p. 88
5 Rendering for Recognition	p. 126
6 Zoom: Relevant Detail in the Visual Study of Nature	p. 164
Part III Micro before the Microscope	p. 193
7 Minute Observation	p. 194
8 Visual Dissection	p. 210
Conclusion	p. 232
Biographical Notes	p. 238
Abbreviations and Appendix	p. 244
References	p. 247
Select Bibliography	p. 266
Acknowledgements	p. 270
List of Illustrations	p. 272
Index	p. 275

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Table of Contents