Historical Development and Philosophical Perspectives of Scientific Illustration

Heather Trew

Date of Award

2003

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Demski, Leo

Keywords

Illustration, Scientific Revolution, Reneissance

Area of Concentration

Biology

Abstract

Art, and more specifically illustration, is an integral part of how scientific knowledge is presented. The unique marriage of art with science, during the Renaissance, was critical in bringing about the Scientific Revolution of the 17tn century. Renaissance artists pioneered many fields of observational science, such as botany, zoology, and anatomy, propelling scientific development out of the confines of antiquated theories, and into an age of discovery. The detailed history of the development of illustration, and of persons intimately connected with that development, is discussed in Chapter One and Chapter Two. There are many techniques that are utilized by modern scientific illustrators for the publication of art in scientific texts. Various styles, mediums, and designs are employed to convey pictorial knowledge as clearly and accurately as possible. Chapter Three provides a brief overview of the most common rendering techniques. The ultimate purpose of a scientific illustration is to convey knowledge to the viewer. And how knowledge is best conveyed, whether it be through naturalism or representationalism, is an interesting debate.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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