Athanasius Kircher (160280) was acknowledged to be the most learned man of his age. By profession a Jesuit priest, he made himself an authority on every subject under (and above) the sun and published the results of his researches in over thirty lavishly illustrated volumes in Latin. His museum in Rome was famous and visited by everybody in the world of learning. Inevitably, his work has been superseded in most areas of study, but he remains a key figure in the history of ideas and in recent years there has been a revival of interest, in which Joscelyn Godwin has played a leading role. But while every other aspect of his thought has been studied, the fascinating engravings with which he illustrated his ideas have been largely ignored. This book fills that gap. It is divided into 15 chapters grouped by the engravings subject; these illustrations reveal his singular mind and the way he was drawn to mysticism and magic.
Recenzijos
'Masses of Kirchers fabulous images as a beautiful, absorbing and utterly wonderful book. Everyone concerned with this project deserves warmest congratulations' - The Times Higher Education Supplement 'The best general introduction to the man available' - The Art Newspaper 'A vast and beautiful book' - The Spectator 'Beautifully produced even a modern reader can scarcely withhold a widening of the eyes at the splendour, the richness, the sheer graphic power of the images on display here. Godwin is a learned and lightly treading guide The author and the publisher have taken real, prolonged, and exhaustive pains to make a beautiful book, and succeeded' - Philip Pullman, Guardian
Daugiau informacijos
Brings back into public awareness a man who dominated the intellectual world of the 17th century
Classical Antiquity Biblical Archaeology Natural Phenomena Religion
Astronomy Topography Animals and Plants The Surface and Interior of
the Earth Magnetism Machines and Music
Joscelyn Godwin is Professor of Music at Colgate University, New York state. He is the author of many books, including A Renaissance Man and the Quest for Lost Knowledge and The Pagan Dream of the Renaissance, both published by Thames & Hudson. He has also edited or translated nineteen other books, including the first complete English translation of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, published by Thames & Hudson in 1999.
