The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat

by Martin Kemp

In this pathbreaking and richly illustrated book, Martin Kemp examines the major optically oriented examples of artistic theory and practice from Brunelleschi’s invention of perspective and its exploitation by Leonardo and Durer to the beginnings of photography. In a discussion of color theory, Kemp traces two main traditions of color the Aristotelian tradition of primary colors and Newton’s prismatic theory that influenced Runge, Turner, and Seurat. His monumental book not only adds to our understanding of a large group of individual works of art but also provides valuable information for all those interested in the interaction between science and art. "This beautifully made volume . . . shows us the unity of the visual study of nature―the exalted mutual task of Renaissance science and art."― Scientific American

"[A] wonderful book. . . . Martin Kemp has convincingly demonstrated that even the most diverse styles of Western art from the Renaissance to modern times remained ever enthralled by scientific optics. . . . [A] handsome volume."―Samuel Y. Edgerton, American Scientist "An extraordinarily ambitious, even daring, enterprise. . . . The book leaves us in no doubt about its author’s expertise in both fields. It includes the most comprehensive account of the development of perspective theory and practice I know."―Thomas Puttfarken, Times Higher Education Supplement "Kemp has performed a valuable service. . . . His style is lucid and he emerges as an honest broker who judiciously weighs the historical evidence. He has an impressive command of the literature of both art and optical science across much of Europe and over a span of four centuries. . . . Kemp’s thesis is amply illustrated with several hundred plates, including many of his own line drawings. . . . The reader is led gently through the history of art and the details of optical science to appreciate their interrelationship."―Geoffrey Cantor, Oxford Art Journal

Genres: Art, Science, History, Art History, Nonfiction, Drawing, History Of Science

383 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 1990

About the author

Martin Kemp is professor of the History of Art at Oxford University, and the author of many books including The Science of Art, Visualizations and the recent Leonardo. He is also a frequent contributor to Nature, the international science journal, where he writes on science and art. Together with Antonio Criminisi, he wrote an article in NEW 1_2005: "Paolo Uccello's 'Battle of San Romano': Order from Chaos" is the most recent report on how they apply 3D graphic techniques to the process of art history investigation.

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strictly speaking, more like skimmed. Divided into three parts: a survey of the use of perspective in art beginning with Brunelleschi and ending with Turner; an examination of relevant instruments and tools; and an examination of color before and after Newton. I particularly enjoyed the second part. I was slightly disappointed that until the third section, everything was in greyscale. I know that this keeps costs down and sometimes makes it easier to see the author's point about perspective, but I felt like it detracted from the works being reproduced.

Some of the things I thought were particularly interesting:

Allegory of Geometry - p128 - http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/6...

181 - Christopher Wren's perspective machine (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Soceity, 1669); Uses of the pantograph, frontispiece from Christopher Scheiner's Pantographice seu ars delineandi, 1631

199 - the Claude glass - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_g...

207 - Pierre Edouard Frère, Zograscope in use to view perspective prints, 1857

[Lamadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book primarily deals with the use of perspective and color theory in painting from the Renaissance on in the Western tradition. I found the sections on color to be most interesting. Kemp includes many diagrams to help explain the different methods of perspective and how each one developed from the previous method. He traces influences and uses primary sources. It was very interesting if a little dry. It's written more in the style of a science book, but is interesting enough to keep you going. You don't have to understand the diagrams and theory to appreciate the historical part.

[kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit dense at times. goes into great detail for many specific works but glosses over large sections of “non-canonical” art history