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Fellows and guests of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts are cordially invited to the
Annual Crawford Lecture in the History of Astronomy

"Galileo, the Telescope and the Renaissance Culture of Glass"

Professor Sven Dupré
Freie Universität Berlin and the
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Teviot Lecture Theatre
Doorway 5, Old Medical School
Teviot Place
Edinburgh EH8 9AG
On Tuesday 7 May 2013, at 5:30pm

This lecture situates Galileo optician (especially his work on the telescope) within the cultures of glass in which he lived — between the furnaces of the glassmakers on the island of Murano near Venice and the alchemical laboratories' connected to the Medici court, first and foremost the Casino di San Marco in Florence, which produced the first printed treatise on glass-making, Antonio Neri's "L'arte vetraria" (1612). Galileo's connections with the world of glass did not stop at the level of technology transfer. Glass was also central to shaping his artistic tastes and in directing his decisions in questions of astronomy and natural philosophy. In adressing the problem of lunar light and substance, Galileo elaborated notions of light connecting Northern art and Venetian glass, equally popular in the artistic climate of the Medici court.

The lecture will be followed by a wine reception

This event is ticketed but free. To book a ticket, please go to: http://crawfordlecture2013-es2005.eventbrite.co.uk/?rank=1

The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is Registered Scottish Charity SC015549

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