The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat [Paperback]

Mr. Martin Kemp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 1992

In this illustrated book, Martin Kemp examines the major optically oriented examples of artistic theory and practice, from Brunelleschi's invention of perspective and its exploitation by Leonardo and Duerer to the beginnings of photography. In a discussion of colour theory, Kemp traces two main traditions of colour science - the Aristotelian tradition of primary colours and Newton's prismatic theory that influenced Runge, Turner and Seurat. His book provides information for all those interested in the interaction between science and art.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a volume filled with some 570 illustrations, Kemp discusses European painters' imitation of nature through the sciences of perspective and color.

Copyright 1992 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This work, one of the most lucidly written art history books in recent memory, addresses a topic of inherent complexity and great recent interest. Kemp (Univ. of St. Andrews), who has written on Leonardo, discusses perspective and optic theories as they related to the central problem of European painting for half a millennium, the verisimilar depiction of nature. The first part of the book discusses perspective theory and practice and the use of devices that led toward photography. In the second part, Kemp explores optic theories derived from Aristotle and from Newton and their theoretical and practical impacts on painting. The only minor cavil is the unclear order of the select bibliography; otherwise, this is a superb and thoughtful book, with a level of writing to which few can aspire. Highly recommended for general as well as special collections.
- Jack Perry Brown, Ryerson & Burnham Libs . , Art Inst. of Chicago
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 383 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; New edition edition (April 22, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300052413
• ISBN-13: 978-0300052411
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 10 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At long last a scientific approach to art history., April 5, 2000

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat (Paperback)

It's amazing what happens when a scientist studies art history. This is a historical perspective on color theory, camera obscura and perspective. It relates the work of indvidual artists to the advances in science.

The refreshing thing is that Kemp realizes that artists who used perspective were not slaves of science, and an artist such as Turner actually realized that the main item of interest in a scene perceptually appears larger than mathematics would dictate.

My favorite story is how it was considered obvious that there were 5 primary colors because Christ had 5 stigmata, but when Newton proved there were 3 primaries, that was obvious because of the Trinity.

This book is certainly not an easy, but the knowledge gained should forever change the way you look at art.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an eye opening book, January 1, 2003

By 

drollere (Sebastopol, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat (Paperback)

i had the experience of being flooded with light and clarity when i first opened and browsed this book. my enthusiasm is in part because of kemp's extraordinary scholarship and detailed command of paintings and art publications across the entire span of western art. but it's also because the story of artistic imaging over the past six centuries is woven around the european romance with linear perspective, which has become so discredited and disliked by artists that it qualifies as a repressed memory. (like any buried memory, perspective surfaces in the dreamlike digital animations of intergalactic science fiction and first person computer games, which take perspective effects to the ultimate level of technical accuracy and artistic triviality.) kemp unearths those repressed perspective memories and shows how vital they were to the development of art and the connections between art and the wider culture of the times.

it is jaw droppingly fun to see how intensive, sophisticated and singleminded was the artistic interest in optical and perceptual issues of seeing. everyone will find special surprises here, but mine include kemp's spatial analysis of velazquez's "las meninas," and the extraordinary drawings and engravings produced c.1800, which force us to realize that we are already looking at "photo graphs," light drawings created by hand, at a time when film photography was not yet practical. there is a large section on various optical devices utilized in visual arts, including the camera obscura and camera lucida, and an excellent section on the evolving understanding and use of color, from the renaissance to seurat.

poignant for me was the victorian fascination with light as a spiritual quality, which comes through in turner's paintings and ruskin's amazing perspectival studies of "clouds" -- images that verge on op art. the intelligence and strength of these images reveal a road left untraveled in art, which turned toward the perceptually driven styles of impressionism and fauvism instead. as a bonus to the many interesting visual exhibits, the writing is lucid, sensible and alert. an invaluable publication.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING!, June 27, 2009

By 

K. Bustillos "Bright Eyes" (Alaska, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat (Paperback)

This book has so much information its mind boggling. There are a lot of books that touch on the subjects of science and art and how they interact, but I haven't found another book that even comes close to the wealth of information this book has! It give detailed descriptions on different equasions and diagrams to go with them. Along with giving the history of who and why such innovations where so welcome and needed. Its just an amazing book! A must for anyone interested in indepth composition.