The Heritage of Giotto's Geometry: Art and Science on the Eve of Scientific Revolution

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Summary: A brilliant synthesis of art history and history of science
Review: Anyone who dares to write about Renaissance art faces a daunting task. The field is dense, the historiography deep, and finding anything new to say sometimes seems impossible. This makes Samuel Edgerton's "Heritage of Giotto's Geometry" all the more remarkable. Edgerton's big question is this: Why did the Scientific Revolution take place in Europe, and catch on first in Italy? He argues that the development in the arts-- most critically the invention of linear perspective, but also innovations in technical drawing, chiaroscuro, and the use of geometry in art-- were the catalyst. The book discusses familiar art historical subjects, mining and medical books, Galileo's drawings of the moon, and Chinese drawings of Western engravings: an amazing range of materials. The book is a model of erudition in another way: it demonstrates how traditional scholarly detective work and clear prose can be used in the service of deeply radical arguments. The book has less jargon than a trendy journal's table of contents.

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Summary: The Scientific Heritage of Linear Perspective
Review: Have you ever been to Florence? If so, perhaps you are aware that one of the greatest achievements of the Western artistic revolution, namely the invention of linear perspective, occurred there in the heart of Tuscany. Edgerton examines the relationship between that artistic revolution and the scientific revolution which began with Galileo in this same city. He points out that it was a tradition of medieval Christian doctrine for the privelidged gentry to know Euclidean geometry, since one might discover in Euclidean geometry God's very thinking process. Geometric linear perspective was invented and quickly accepted in western Europe as Christians thought that they were then perceiving a replica of the same underlying structure of reality that God concieved in the act of Creation. Edgerton explains that the new way in which this reality was represented, using the tools of linear perspective and chiaroscuro, invented by Renaissance artists, paved the way for scientific practice, impacting both science and technology. He demonstrates a knowledge of church history, geometry, optics, art and history of science. The book is packed with interesting illustrations. All in all it is a fascinating account of two important revolutions and their interconnectedness.