Picturing Science, Producing Art

edited by Caroline A. Jones and Peter Galison
1998, New York and London, Routledge

Reviewed by David Topper


In recent years there has been a plethora of publications unmasking in a myriad of ways the relationship between art and science. This book, a collection of nineteen essays, purports to add to this growing body of literature. Many of the authors are well-known in their respective fields (mostly art history and science history, but also architecture, photography, and perception) and all have contributed scholarly essays. Nevertheless, the goal of bridging the gap between art and science is seldom reached, since most essays remain fixed in either the art or science mode, with at most a nod given the other way. For example, Svetlana Alpers' study of the artist's studio in the 17th century makes some suggestive comments on the scientist's laboratory as an analog, but the essay is mostly about the studio. In the essays that do bridge the art/science gap, the connection is often made through scientific illustration - another topic much discussed of late. A fascinating example is David Freedberg's study of the iconography of the bee in 17th century Rome. Also noteworthy: Peter Galison's thesis that the concept of "objectivity" was a 19th century invention, and Simon Schaffer's study of the influence of various cultural elements on the drawing of nebulae in the last century.