Renaissance 1300 - 1600
The Renaissance stood for rebirth and rediscovery of the classical civilizations of Rome, Greece and Egypt. The Moors , who ruled Spain and influenced Europe from 700-1300, preserved, recorded and reissued the scientific, philosophical and artistic heritage of the classical Mediterranean
It was also the time when the sea routes to Asia, Africa and the Americas were opened and used to great financial gain, for the rulers of Europe and a growing merchant middleclass.
Many of the inventions accredited to Europeans at this time, were in fact brought home by seafarers and scholars, increased communication created fertile interaction between cultures. Europe, at this time, was a dynamic, and overpopulated, continent and became a central point of trade, distribution and the exchange of goods and ideas.
It was also the time when the sea routes to Asia, Africa and the Americas were opened and used to great financial gain, for the rulers of Europe and a growing merchant middleclass.
Many of the inventions accredited to Europeans at this time, were in fact brought home by seafarers and scholars, increased communication created fertile interaction between cultures. Europe, at this time, was a dynamic, and overpopulated, continent and became a central point of trade, distribution and the exchange of goods and ideas.
The Camera Obscura
Who invented the Camera Obscura , where and when?
Invented by Alhazen
Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham), a great authority on optics in the Middle Ages who lived around 1000AD, invented the first pinhole camera, (also called the Camera Obscura} and was able to explain why the images were upside down. The first casual reference to the optic laws that made pinhole cameras possible, was observed and noted by Aristotle around 330 BC, who questioned why the sun could make a circular image when it shined through a square hole. On a summer day in 1827, Joseph Nicephore Niepce made the first photographic image with a camera obscura. Prior to Niepce people just used the camera obscura for viewing or drawing purposes not for making photographs. Joseph Nicephore Niepce's heliographs or sun prints as they were called were the prototype for the modern photograph, by letting light draw the picture.
Invented by Alhazen
Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham), a great authority on optics in the Middle Ages who lived around 1000AD, invented the first pinhole camera, (also called the Camera Obscura} and was able to explain why the images were upside down. The first casual reference to the optic laws that made pinhole cameras possible, was observed and noted by Aristotle around 330 BC, who questioned why the sun could make a circular image when it shined through a square hole. On a summer day in 1827, Joseph Nicephore Niepce made the first photographic image with a camera obscura. Prior to Niepce people just used the camera obscura for viewing or drawing purposes not for making photographs. Joseph Nicephore Niepce's heliographs or sun prints as they were called were the prototype for the modern photograph, by letting light draw the picture.
How Did It Revolutionize Painting?
It revolutionized painting in that it made it more realistic. Factors such as perspective, tonal value and composition were influenced by this camera. For example Veermer. Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer 1632 – December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime. He seems never to have been particularly wealthy, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death, perhaps because he produced relatively few paintings. Although scholars are not in agreement exactly to what extent Vermeer employed the camera obscura as an aid to his painting, few doubt that he was familiar with its workings and employed it in some phase of his working procedure. There are essentially five characteristics of Vermeer's paintings that suggest the use of a camera obscura: perspective, tonal rendering, composition, handling of light and some peculiar effects produced uniquely by the camera obscura.By the 18th century, many painters were using the camera obscura, or variations on it, to capture the subtle nuances of the human form, especially that most challenging of human expressions: the smile.
Leonardo Da Vinci
QUICK FACTS
NAME: Leonardo da Vinci
OCCUPATION: Mathematician, Artist, Inventor, Musician, Writer
BIRTH DATE: April 15, 1452
DEATH DATE: May 02, 1519
PLACE OF BIRTH: Vinci, Italy
PLACE OF DEATH: Amboise, France
FULL NAME: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci
AKA: Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter and a genius in many realms of science. He is best known for two paintings: the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper." Born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy, Leonardo da Vinci was concerned with the laws of science and nature, which greatly informed his work as a painter, sculptor, inventor and draftsmen. His ideas and body of work -- which includes Virgin of the Rocks,The Last Supper, Leda and the Swan and Mona Lisa -- have influenced countless artists and made da Vinci a leading light of the Italian Renaissance.
It may seem unusual to include Leonardo da Vinci in a list of paleontologists and evolutionary biologists. Leonardo was and is best known as an artist, the creator of such masterpieces as the Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks, and The Last Supper. Yet Leonardo was far more than a great artist: he had one of the best scientific minds of his time. He made painstaking observations and carried out research in fields ranging from architecture and civil engineering to astronomy to anatomy and zoology to geography, geology and paleontology. In the words of his biographer Giorgio Vasari:
The most heavenly gifts seem to be showered on certain human beings. Sometimes supernaturally, marvelously, they all congregate in one individual. . . . This was seen and acknowledged by all men in the case of Leonardo da Vinci, who had. . . an indescribable grace in every effortless act and deed. His talent was so rare that he mastered any subject to which he turned his attention. . . . He might have been a scientist if he had not been so versatile.
NAME: Leonardo da Vinci
OCCUPATION: Mathematician, Artist, Inventor, Musician, Writer
BIRTH DATE: April 15, 1452
DEATH DATE: May 02, 1519
PLACE OF BIRTH: Vinci, Italy
PLACE OF DEATH: Amboise, France
FULL NAME: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci
AKA: Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter and a genius in many realms of science. He is best known for two paintings: the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper." Born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy, Leonardo da Vinci was concerned with the laws of science and nature, which greatly informed his work as a painter, sculptor, inventor and draftsmen. His ideas and body of work -- which includes Virgin of the Rocks,The Last Supper, Leda and the Swan and Mona Lisa -- have influenced countless artists and made da Vinci a leading light of the Italian Renaissance.
It may seem unusual to include Leonardo da Vinci in a list of paleontologists and evolutionary biologists. Leonardo was and is best known as an artist, the creator of such masterpieces as the Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks, and The Last Supper. Yet Leonardo was far more than a great artist: he had one of the best scientific minds of his time. He made painstaking observations and carried out research in fields ranging from architecture and civil engineering to astronomy to anatomy and zoology to geography, geology and paleontology. In the words of his biographer Giorgio Vasari:
The most heavenly gifts seem to be showered on certain human beings. Sometimes supernaturally, marvelously, they all congregate in one individual. . . . This was seen and acknowledged by all men in the case of Leonardo da Vinci, who had. . . an indescribable grace in every effortless act and deed. His talent was so rare that he mastered any subject to which he turned his attention. . . . He might have been a scientist if he had not been so versatile.
The Turin Shroud
- first known photograph of a self portrait -
- A study of facial features suggests the image on the relic is actually da Vinci's own face which could have been projected into the cloth.
- The artefact has been regarded by generations of believers as the face of the crucified Jesus who was wrapped in it, but carbon-dating by scientists points to its creation in the Middle Ages.
- American artist Lillian Schwartz, a graphic consultant at the School of Visual Arts in New York who came to prominence in the 1980s when she matched the face of the Mona Lisa to a Leonardo self-portrait, used computer scans to show that the face on the Shroud has the same dimensions to that of da Vinci.
The Print Revolution
The invention of Movable Type printing has been wrongly accredited to Gutenberg of Germany. He was, however, the first European to use this invention and he created the first mechanized printing press, which caused both a technological and political revolution in Europe.
Copyright issues had to be addressed, literacy spread (though not common until the 20th century) new ideas went on a rampage within established structures, paper manufacturing, bookbinding and publishing became new and thriving commercial ventures. The woodblock printers tried to shut down the new businesses by violent protest, the Inquisition burnt books and imprisoned, thumb-screwed and water-boarded authors, printers and publishers alike, but to no avail , the WORD was ‘out’, and there was no getting it back in.
Printing was first conceived and developed in China and Korea. The oldest printed book using woodblock printing, a Korean Buddhist scripture, dates to 751 AD. The oldest surviving book printed using block printing, the Chinese Diamond Sutra, dates to 868. The movable type printer was invented by Bi Sheng in 1041 during Song Dynasty China. The movable type metal printing press was invented in Korea in 1234 by Chwe Yoon Eyee during the Goryeo Dynasty -216 years ahead of Gutenberg in 1450. By the 12th and 13th century many Chinese libraries contained tens of thousands of printed books.
Copyright issues had to be addressed, literacy spread (though not common until the 20th century) new ideas went on a rampage within established structures, paper manufacturing, bookbinding and publishing became new and thriving commercial ventures. The woodblock printers tried to shut down the new businesses by violent protest, the Inquisition burnt books and imprisoned, thumb-screwed and water-boarded authors, printers and publishers alike, but to no avail , the WORD was ‘out’, and there was no getting it back in.
Printing was first conceived and developed in China and Korea. The oldest printed book using woodblock printing, a Korean Buddhist scripture, dates to 751 AD. The oldest surviving book printed using block printing, the Chinese Diamond Sutra, dates to 868. The movable type printer was invented by Bi Sheng in 1041 during Song Dynasty China. The movable type metal printing press was invented in Korea in 1234 by Chwe Yoon Eyee during the Goryeo Dynasty -216 years ahead of Gutenberg in 1450. By the 12th and 13th century many Chinese libraries contained tens of thousands of printed books.
Wood Block Printing
Who invented it?
Woodblock printing was invented by the Chinese
When was it invented?
China 800 around 800 AD
What is woodblock printing?
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220, and woodblock printing remained the most common East Asian method of printings books and other texts, as well as images, until the 19th century. Ukiyo-e is the best known type of Japanese woodblock art print. Most European uses of the technique for printing images on paper are covered by the art term woodcut, except for the block-books produced mainly in the 15th century
Woodblock printing was invented by the Chinese
When was it invented?
China 800 around 800 AD
What is woodblock printing?
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220, and woodblock printing remained the most common East Asian method of printings books and other texts, as well as images, until the 19th century. Ukiyo-e is the best known type of Japanese woodblock art print. Most European uses of the technique for printing images on paper are covered by the art term woodcut, except for the block-books produced mainly in the 15th century
The history of printing in East Asia starts with the use of woodblock printing on cloth during the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) and later paper (in Tang China as early as the 7th century), and continued with the invention of wooden movable type by East Asian artisans in Song China by the 11th century. Use of woodblock printing quickly spread to other East Asian countries. While the Chinese used only clay and wood movable type at first, use of metal movable type was pioneered in Korea by the 13th century. The Western-style printing press became known in East Asia by the 16th century but was not fully adopted until centuries later.
Movable -Type Printing
Printing with movable type
The world's first known movable-type system for printing was created in China around 1040 A.D. by Bi Sheng during the Song Dynasty following that, the first metal movable-type system for printing was made in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (around 1230). This led to the printing of the Jikji in 1377—today the oldest existent movable metal print book. The diffusion of both movable-type systems was, however, limited: They were expensive, and required an enormous amount of labour involved in manipulating the thousands of ceramic tablets, or in the case of Korea, metal tablets required for scripts based on the Chinese writing system, which have thousands of characters.
The world's first known movable-type system for printing was created in China around 1040 A.D. by Bi Sheng during the Song Dynasty following that, the first metal movable-type system for printing was made in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (around 1230). This led to the printing of the Jikji in 1377—today the oldest existent movable metal print book. The diffusion of both movable-type systems was, however, limited: They were expensive, and required an enormous amount of labour involved in manipulating the thousands of ceramic tablets, or in the case of Korea, metal tablets required for scripts based on the Chinese writing system, which have thousands of characters.
Printing Blocks
For alphabetic scripts, movable-type page setting was quicker and more durable than woodblock printing. The metal type pieces were more durable and the lettering was more uniform, leading to typography and fonts. The printing press was especially efficient for limited alphabets. The high quality and relatively low price of the Gutenberg Bible (1455) established the superiority of movable type in Europe and the use of printing presses spread rapidly. The printing press may be regarded as one of the key factors fostering the Renaissance and due to its effectiveness, its use spread around the globe.
The 19th-century invention of hot metal typesetting and its successors caused movable type to decline in the 20th century.
The 19th-century invention of hot metal typesetting and its successors caused movable type to decline in the 20th century.
Type Casting
Type casting is a technique for casting the individual letters known as sorts used in hot metal typesetting by pouring molten metal into bronze moulds called matrices. Although using matrices was a technique known well before his time, Johann Gutenberg adapted their use to a conveniently adjustable hand mould, enabling one to easily and accurately cast identical multiple instances of any character, a process which was to become a cornerstone of his 15th century invention of secret writing. The ultimate product of manual typecasting were fonts for letterpress printing, and the process starts with the installation of a matrix with the impression of a particular glyph into the bottom of the hand mould which is adjusted for the width of the body and locked in preparation for casting.
The Bible
- First Book To Be Printed In Europe -
The first book printed in Europe from movable types was the Bible, printed by Gutenberg, at Strasburg, in 1455. This work is sometimes described as the Mazarine Bible, and occasionally as the “forty-two line” Bible. The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the first major book printed with movable type in the West. It marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of the printed book in the West. Widely praised for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities, the book has an iconic status. Written in Latin, the Gutenberg Bible is an edition of the Vulgate, printed by Johannes Gutenberg, in Mainz, Germany, in the 1450s. Forty-eight copies, or substantial portions of copies, survive, and they are considered by many sources to be the most valuable books in the world, even though a complete copy has not been sold since 1978. The 36-line Bible, believed to be the second printed version of the Bible, is also sometimes referred to as a Gutenberg Bible, but is likely the work of another printer.