Article ID: CBB000932673

Magic and Artifice in the Collection of Athanasius Kircher (2010)

unapi

Situated at the center of intellectual life in baroque Rome, the museum administered by the Jesuit naturalist Athanasius Kircher (1602--1680) simultaneously instructed and bemused its audiences with an exuberant mix of exotic animals, classical art and technological marvels. Kircher's playful use of spectacle and his irrepressible fondness for magic were derided by contemporaries as frivolous wonder-mongering, but the lavish machines at the heart of his museum were more than mere showpieces. Instead, they presented audiences with a compelling vision of the natural world in which the hidden foundations of the universe could be captured and displayed by artifice. Kircher's collection was in itself a vast instrument of revelation, conceived on a grander scale than the telescope of Galileo but rooted all the same in contemporary scientific culture.

...More

Description On the museum administered by Kircher.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB000932673/

Similar Citations

Article Bartola, Alberto; (2004)
Alle Origini del Museo del Collegio Romano (/isis/citation/CBB000501354/)

Chapter Ashley J. Inglehart; (2018)
Filippo Buonanni and the Kircher Museum (/isis/citation/CBB074439858/)

Book Rößler, Hole; Burkart, Lucas; Asmussen, Tina; Furrer, Frederik; (2013)
Theatrum Kircherianum: Wissenskulturen und Bücherwelten im 17. Jahrhundert (/isis/citation/CBB001551220/)

Book Rowland, Ingrid D.; (2000)
The Ecstatic Journey: Athanasius Kircher in Baroque Rome (/isis/citation/CBB000110056/)

Article Pérez Pariente, Joaquín; Pascual Valderrama, Ignacio Miguel; (2013)
Alquimia, minería y cultura popular en las obras de los Barones de Beausoleil: los habitantes de los mundos subterráneos (/isis/citation/CBB001200193/)

Book Fletcher, John Edward; Fletcher, Elizabeth; Trompf, G. W.; Kircher, Athanasius; (2011)
A Study of the Life and Works of Athanasius Kircher, “Germanus incredibilis”: With a Selection of His Unpublished Correspondence and an Annotated Translation of His Autobiography (/isis/citation/CBB001251872/)

Chapter Findlen, Paula; (2001)
A Site of Encounter: The Emergence of the Science Museum (/isis/citation/CBB000102123/)

Article Findlen, Paula; (1995)
Scientific spectacle in Baroque Rome: Athanasius Kircher and the Roman College Museum (/isis/citation/CBB000077664/)

Book Evans, Harry B.; (2012)
Exploring the Kingdom of Saturn: Kircher's Latium and Its Legacy (/isis/citation/CBB001252754/)

Chapter Leospo, Enrichetta; (1989)
Athanasius Kircher und das Museo Kircheriano (/isis/citation/CBB000078366/)

Article Ingrid D. Rowland; (2005)
Poetry and Prophecy in the Encyclopedic System of Athanasius Kircher (/isis/citation/CBB859505830/)

Book Walker, William S; (2013)
A Living Exhibition: The Smithsonian and the Transformation of the Universal Museum (/isis/citation/CBB001201272/)

Book Sabina Brevaglieri; (2019)
Natural desiderio di sapere: Roma barocca fra vecchi e nuovi mondi (/isis/citation/CBB602895394/)

Authors & Contributors
Findlen, Paula
Rowland, Ingrid D.
Inglehart, Ashley J.
Furrer, Frederik
Asmussen, Tina
Burkart, Lucas
Concepts
Museums
Natural history
Science and religion
Science
Collections
Science and culture
Time Periods
17th century
18th century
Early modern
20th century
19th century
16th century
Places
Italy
Rome (Italy)
Germany
France
Europe
Egypt
Institutions
Jesuits (Society of Jesus)
Museo del Collegio Romano
Smithsonian Institution
Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Rome)
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment