Page 21 - joa-may-23

You can find the image of the The modern age of printing was
Vitruvian Man just about anywhere as unleashed. By 1500, printing presses
part of an art collection or as a were scattered throughout Western
reference image in an art studio. You Europe, producing more than twenty
can also see da Vinci’s detailed draw- million volumes. Scientific illustra-
ings of his many inventions wherever tion was more in demand than ever
his genius inspires work and thought, before as the thirst for more detailed
from lobbies of tech companies to a information about our insides
mechanic’s garage. They have been became more fascinating.
seen in CAD operators’ workspaces As a result of this growing inter-
and architects’ offices as representative est, finding a cadaver became more
of the precursors to their own work. difficult. Doctors would agree to
But da Vinci’s take on illustration is A diagram by Leonardo da Vinci of an invention he called a pay funeral expenses if they could
perhaps best described by the Museum “Manual lever winch,” long before anything like this was able to be made. explore the body of someone recently
of Science in Boston, “While Leonardo da Vinci is best-known as an passed who was not particularly rich. Large tomes regarding the anato-
artist, his work as a scientist and inventor makes him a true Renaissance my of man (much more frequently than woman) became staples in
man. He serves as a role model in applying the scientific method to medical schools and anywhere one sought higher learning. And the
every aspect of life, including art and music. … His keen eye and quick growth in the printing industry continued to evolve.
mind led him to make important scientific discoveries, yet he never By the mid-18th century, the various iterations of the printing press
published his ideas. … Leonardo bridged the gap between unscientific were known to “steal jobs” from workers. The highly-trained artisans
medieval methods and the rigorous who would hand-copy and illuminate manuscripts became
scientific methodology we use today.” victims of progress by the late 15th century, but the printing
industry had never been larger.
The Progression of Detail
In a published paper titled The Welcome to the Patent Office
Evolution and Influence of Art in The value of information and ideas
Scientific Illustration by Ahsiya Zurita reached a new level with the opening of
of Bard College in 2016, the author the U.S. Patent and Trade office in 1790.
notes that, “The more scientific Through the submission of an invention
knowledge gained by the general supported by scientific data, purpose, and
public and scientific community, the who was in the room when the invention
more relevant illustration became. … took place, a specific new item or technol-
scientific illustration is defined by the ogy could be “owned.” At that time, each patent was required
use of scientifically informed observa- to have an accompanying illustration depicting the applicant’s
tion to create an accurate depiction of the object or subject. It is defined invention. Typically, these drawings were simplistic line drawings with
by the ability to illustrate the hard-to-observe phenomena, or by its no aestetic value whatsover. From the 1800s through the mid-20th
abilities to present structures and details with clarity as a description of century, more artistic flair was used with techniques including shading
a subject. Illustrations become more accurate and scientific with the and showed the invention from different perspectives. Whereas s
increased interest in observation as a learning tool within the ome believed the drawings would become better over time, today’s
Renaissance [14th-16th centuries].” examples are hardly anything to rave about for their accuracy and
Rembrandt was next up as the artist/scientist/instructor genius who detail. For example,
advanced scientific illustration to another level. As noted in the May the patent illustra-
2019 issue of the Journal, the article “Medical Art” mentions the painting tion for an artificial
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicholas Tulip (1632) as a representation of arm from 1865 vs. a
Rembrandt’s keen ability to observe even “Domestic Animal
the finest of details. He painted the details Telephone” from
of the hand from life after the operation 2011:
was over. This artistic scientific painting “Up until 1880,
showcased the abilities of the artist as sci- inventors had to
ence instructor illustrator. include an actual
model of their
Duplicating Efforts invention along
Today, you can gather innumerable with a drawing, so
prints of da Vinci’s and Rembrandt’s and many of the drawings included in
other early artists’ works from centuries patent applications were actually
past, but during those times sharing illus- depictions of the draftsman’s
trative information was harder than discov- model. With so much time com-
ering a painting in a cave. mitted to creating a working
Early printing of materials was intense model of the invention, it’s no
and expensive. Woodblock printing wonder that patent draftsmen
arrived in the 9th century. The Gutenberg would want to spend a good
Press almost single-handedly made the amount of time making sure the
production of the printed page easier than drawing matched. The artificial
ever when it was created around 1436, arm drawn in this patent illustra-
using a screw-type wine press to squeeze tion has depth, as a 3D model
down on inked metal type. According to does, and goes into great detail in
History.com, Gutenberg’s “greatest its cross-section. With all three
accomplishment was the first print run of perspectives of the arm, including
the Bible in Latin, which took three years the detailed drawing of the hand,
to print around 200 copies, a miraculously the draftsman accomplished
speedy achievement in the day of hand- much more than what the
copied manuscripts.” USPTO required in a drawing.”
As for the phone, “The smiling
May 202 3 19