Some years ago; David Freedberg opened a dusty cupboard at Windsor Castle and discovered hundreds of vividly colored; masterfully precise drawings of all sorts of plants and animals from the Old and New Worlds. Coming upon thousands more drawings like them across Europe; Freedberg finally traced them all back to a little-known scientific organization from seventeenth-century Italy called the Academy of Linceans (or Lynxes).Founded by Prince Federico Cesi in 1603; the Linceans took as their task nothing less than the documentation and classification of all of nature in pictorial form. In this first book-length study of the Linceans to appear in English; Freedberg focuses especially on their unprecedented use of drawings based on microscopic observation and other new techniques of visualization. Where previous thinkers had classified objects based mainly on similarities of external appearance; the Linceans instead turned increasingly to sectioning; dissection; and observation of internal structures. They applied their new research techniques to an incredible variety of subjects; from the objects in the heavens studied by their most famous (and infamous) member Galileo Galileimdash;whom they supported at the most critical moments of his careermdash;to the flora and fauna of Mexico; bees; fossils; and the reproduction of plants and fungi. But by demonstrating the inadequacy of surface structures for ordering the world; the Linceans unwittingly planted the seeds for the demise of their own favorite methodmdash;visual description-as a mode of scientific classification.Profusely illustrated and engagingly written; Eye of the Lynx uncovers a crucial episode in the development of visual representation and natural history. And perhaps as important; it offers readers a dazzling array of early modern drawings; from magnificently depicted birds and flowers to frogs in amber; monstrously misshapen citrus fruits; and more.
#214731 in eBooks 2003-10-13 2003-10-13File Name: B005MZN104
Review
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful. An award-winning teachers generous legacyBy Constance McLennanEarlier this year. Barbara Bradley was selected by a jury of 75 illustrators. art directors and educators to receive the New York Society of Illustrators 2007 Distinguished Educator of the Arts Award. "Drawing People: How to Portray the Clothed Figure" is an organized. comprehensive collection of the lessons this outstanding teacher and former illustration department director distilled from 25 years of teaching clothed figure drawing at San Franciscos Academy of Art University. The breadth of Bradleys knowledge and understanding of drawing made this an ambitious undertaking. The result is a book densely packed with key concepts and tips for producing believable. expressive. well-drawn figures.It is unfortunate that two of the recently posted reviews here are so bafflingly critical--especially since one is written by someone who admits he lacks the skill to draw clothed figures himself. As a working illustrator for over 20 years (Domitila: A Cinderella Tale from the Mexican Tradition. The Wishing Tree. Water Beds: Sleeping In The Ocean. Octavia And Her Purple Ink Cloud. The Rainforest Grew All Around). let me assure you that "Drawing People" is a valuable resource both for beginning artists as well as for more advanced. life-long students. Contrary to the title of my review. the inspiration and skills Barbara Bradley passed on to her many students is her real legacy. Her clothed figure drawing book is a bonus--a gift to those not fortunate enough to have experienced her teaching first-hand.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Rosemarie Solomonlovely book by a great artist. thank you0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Joshua HawkinsGood for the cloth draw. you will get some infor more or less
