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The Ecstatic Journey: Athanasius Kircher in Baroque Rome

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This catalogue, which documents an exhibition held at the University of Chicago Library two years ago, serves as a fine introduction to Kircher, as well as an important constellation of figures at the heart of seventeenth century Baroque Rome. Kircher, one of the most prodigious of seventeenth century polymaths, sat at the helm of the Jesuit Collegio Romano and had connections with the likes of Galileo and Borromini. Kircher created endlessly absorbing, vertiginous works on a variety of topics, including magic lanterns, Chinese wonders, Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Temple of Solomon, the Tower of Babel and music. The catalogue has clear, but reduced, reproductions of the etched illustrations from several of these works. In the accompanying essay, the author does a fine job of illuminating the many strands of Kircher's work, providing numerous insights into Jesuit/Baroque science and politics, as well as seventeenth century art and architecture. The catalogue certainly makes one wish for a full scale study of Kircher in the near future.