Full Description
This book is the first full-length study of the Nova Reperta (New Discoveries), a renowned series of prints designed by Johannes Stradanus during the late 1580s in Florence. Reproductions of the prints, essays, conversations from a scholarly symposium, and catalogue entries complement a Newberry Library exhibition that tells the story of the design, conception, and reception of Stradanus's engravings.
Renaissance Invention: Stradanus's 'Nova Reperta' seeks to understand why certain inventions or novelties were represented in the series and how that presentation reflected and fostered their adoption in the sixteenth century. What can Stradanus's prints tell us about invention and cross-cultural encounter in the Renaissance? What was considered 'new' in the era? Who created change and technological innovation?
Through images of group activities and interactions in workshops, Stradanus's prints emphasize the importance of collaboration in the creation of new things, dispelling traditional notions of individual genius. The series also dismisses the assumption that the revival of the wonders of the ancient world in Italy was the catalyst for transformation. In fact, the Latin captions on the prints explain how contemporary inventions surpass those of the ancients. Together, word and image foreground the global nature of invention and change in the early modern period even as they promote specifically Florentine interests and activities.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Essays
Introduction: Inventing the Nova Reperta
Lia Markey
1.Philips Galle's Nova Reperta: A Case Study in Print Prices and Distribution
Karen L. Bowen
2. Stradanus's Print Shop and the Practice of Printing in Sixteenth-century Antwerp
Dirk Imhof
3. Diligent Labor in Stradanus's Engraving Shop
Madeleine C. Viljoen
4. Mathematical Instruments in the Nova Reperta
James Clifton
5. Invented Processes and Hands-On Knowledge: Stradanus's Distillation and Magnetic Compass
Olivia Dill
6. A New World Disease and Therapy: Stradano's Guaiacum Engraving
Alessandra Foscati and Lia Markey
7.The Global Reception of Stradanus and the Political Uses of the Nova Reperta
DÁniel MargÓcsy
8. Practical Knowledge in Early Modern Europe
Pamela H. Smith
Conversations
Navigation
Jim Akerman, Pedro Raposo, JB Shank
Warfare
David Cressy, Jennifer Nelson, Suzanne Karr Schmidt
Printing
Jill Gage, Martin Antonetti
Transformation
Rebecca Zorach, Luca MolÀ, Matthew James Crawford
Machines
Jessica Keating, Deborah Howard, Niall Atkinson
Visuality
Christine GÖttler, Claudia Swan, Sven DuprÉ
Catalogue
58 entries on materials from the Newberry's collection
Bibliography
Index
