From painted diagrams of the constellations to a photograph of a black hole taken from a “virtual telescope” the size of planet Earth; from medieval astrological “zodiac men” to “Nuclear” MRIs: science has always produced images. Such imagery may educate or advertise; it may communicate theories or arouse wonder. It may be intended as – or may later become – great art.
This course will ask how science has produced art, and how art has shaped science. It will be richly illustrated with examples of manuscripts, printed books and digital images. We will examine some works by self-proclaimed artists, from the Limbourg Brothers to JMW Turner, which have been inspired by science and technology. But the bulk of our time will be spent working with the art produced directly by scientists themselves. Ornate brass astrolabes; engravings of the earliest objects to be viewed through a microscope; ultrasound photographs, which expectant parents can now print onto a cupcake... each speaks eloquently of a particular scientific culture. Even at its most abstract and diagrammatic, visual and communicative choices shape each work’s form and reveal its multifarious functions.
The story of humanity’s evolving understanding of nature may be told through scientific images, but we must first learn to read them. From ancient Egypt to the present day, we will discuss why and how they were made, and what they can tell us.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this course are:
- Know about a range of scientific developments from antiquity to the present, and how they were reflected in the art of each age.
- Understand the complex relationship and blurred boundaries between scientific and artistic communication of ideas.
- Enjoy seeing, and critically appraising, depictions of science and scientists from various forms of visual culture.
Classes
1. Ancient and Medieval Art and Science
We will examine the complex relationship between science and art, seeing how difficult it can be to separate them. We will examine a range of visual prompts, handwritten, painted or sculpted from the 4th century BC to 1500, to see how science and art served each other, or together served various religious or political goals.
2. Renaissance Science and Art
This session examines the developments of 1400-1600 often known as 'the Renaissance', asking what was 'reborn', what was entirely new, and what continuities there were with earlier periods. We discuss the rise of printing and the discovery of the 'New World' as emblematic of changes in science, focusing on key works by Copernicus and Vesalius.
3. Early Modern Scientific and Artistic Cultures
This session focuses on the period from 1600-1900. In the first part we examine new ways of seeing through technology: the telescope and microscope. In the second part we see how the rise of the modern sciences in all their variety and complexity affected visual culture.
4. Modern Ways of Seeing
This session will examine how modern technologies and attitudes to science have affected our visual culture. Examining a few key images from the twentieth and twenty-first century, we will question how the achievements and problems of modern science can be communicated through images.
5. Objects and Museums
This session will focus on three-dimensional scientific objects through the ages. It will question to what extent they can be separated from the images we examined in the first four sessions; but it will also look at the particular problems of curating and displaying such objects in museums of art and science.
Typical week: Monday to Friday
For each week of study you select a morning (Am) and an afternoon (Pm) course, each course has five sessions, one each day Monday to Friday. The maximum class size is 25 students. Your weekly courses are complemented by a series of two daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.
| c.8.00am-9.00am |
Breakfast in College (for residents) |
| 9.00am-10.30am |
Am Course |
| 11.15am-12.30pm |
Plenary Lecture |
| 12.30pm-1.45pm |
Lunch |
| 1.45pm-3.15pm |
Pm Course |
| 4.00pm-5.15pm |
Plenary Lecture |
| c.6.00/6.15pm-7.15/7.30pm |
Dinner in College (for residents) |
| c.7.30pm onwards |
Evening talk/event |
Evaluation and Academic Credit
If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.
Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £65 per essay.
For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.
Certificate of attendance
A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically within a week of your courses finishing.
