Science made Visible: Drawings, Prints, Objects

2 July 2018 – 30 November 2018
The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5AG

An exhibition curated by the Making Visible project at CRASSH, based on research in the Royal Society archives. The exhibition is supported by the AHRC, The Royal Society, Trinity College Cambridge and the Sedgwick Museum Cambridge.

© Royal Society
Richard Waller, Yellow Flag Iris, 1689-1713, Royal Society archives, MS/131/034. Graphite, ink, and watercolour on paper

From the founding of the Royal Society in 1660 images and objects were an important part of science. The first Fellows created images to communicate new discoveries to their colleagues around the world, as well as to the London public. They also used graphical methods to explore and develop their ideas. Many of these beautiful and striking pictures can still be found in the archives of the Royal Society. This exhibition will show that making and seeing such images were essential for science in the seventeenth century.

Read a blog post about the exhibition on the CRASSH website.

To accompany the physical exhibition, project researchers Dr Sietske Fransen and Dr Katherine Reinhart in collaboration with the Royal Society, have curated an online exhibition for Google Arts & Culture, which can be viewed here. 

Watch project member Katie Reinhart speak about Isaac Newton’s woodblocks in a video produced by ‘Objectivity’ for the Royal Society.

Watch project member Sietske Fransen discuss Isaac Newton’s compass in a video produced by ‘Objectivity’ for the Royal Society.
 

Find out more from the accompanying exhibition catalogue