Architecture, Mathematics, and English Culture 1550-1750
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Grant Holder:
Dr Stephen Johnston
The project combined the histories of architecture and of science to investigate the relationship between architecture and practical mathematics, and the development and changing role of the architect. Sir Christopher Wren emerged as the central historical figure of the project, for his career as astronomer, natural philosopher and architect.
There was a strong focus on material culture and the juxtaposition of normally separate topics and materials - for example, late medieval masons’ drawings on stone as well as paper, along with the large-scale instruments used in their building practice; or the architectural drawings of George III, the elaborate mathematical instruments offered for his patronage, and contemporary satirical prints featuring such instruments for emblematic effect. A principal outcome was a loan exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science in Summer 2009, which subsequently transferred to the Yale Center for British Art in 2010.
| Project start date: 2007-10 | Project end date: 2009-05 |
Subject domains:
Era(s):
Country/region(s):
| Methods used | Category |
|---|---|
| 2d Scanning and photography | Data capture |
| Use of existing digital data | Data capture |
Funding sources:
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Content types created:
3D object, Moving Image, Still Image/Graphics, Text
Software tools used:
Javascript, WordPress, Flash, FlippingBook WordPress Gallery
Source material used:
This exhibition brings together major loans from public and private collections across Britain to reveal the material world of the English architect.
Digital resource created:
Online exhibition (text and images). Video clips in this section show elements of the design process used by early-modern architects, from preparing inks and using historical drawing instruments, to the 3D animation of astronomical and architectural drawings by Christopher Wren.
Access to digital resource:
Open Access
Data Formats created:
Flash Video (FLV), Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Graphics interchange format file (GIF), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), JPEG File Interchange Format (JPG), Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)
Publications:
Gerbino, Anthony, and Stephen Johnston, Compass and Rule: Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England, 1500-1750. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009.
Project staff and expertise:
| Principal staff member: | Dr Stephen Johnston |
|---|---|
| Other staff: | Postdoctoral researcher(s) / Research assistant(s) |
| External expertise: |
| Metadata on this arts-humanities.net record | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) of record | Stephen Johnston |
| Title | Architecture, Mathematics, and English Culture 1550-1750 |
| Record created | 2010-07-14 |
| Record updated | 2011-06-02 11:31 |
| URL of record | http://www.arts-humanities.net/node/3891 |
| Citation of record | Stephen Johnston: Architecture, Mathematics, and English Culture 1550-1750. <http://www.arts-humanities.net/node/3891> created: 2010-07-14, last updated 2011-06-02 11:31 |