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Richard Waller and the Fusion of Visual and Scientific Practice in the early Royal Society

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Reinhart, Katherine  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0804-2259

Abstract

Richard Waller, Fellow and Secretary of the Royal Society, is probably best remembered for editing Robert Hooke’s posthumously published works. Yet, Waller also created numerous drawings, paintings, and engravings for his own work and the Society’s publications. From precisely observed grasses to allegorical frontispieces, Waller’s images not only contained a diverse range of content, they are some of the most beautiful, colorful, and striking from the Society’s early years. This article argues that Waller played a distinctly important role in shaping the visual program of the Royal Society by virtue of his multiple functions as reliable administrator and translator, competent natural philosopher, and skilled image-maker. It analyzes Waller’s visual works in the context of his graphic training —in part influenced by his mother Mary More—and situates them within the context of English image-making traditions and Waller’s own natural philosophical interests. Examined as a functional whole, Waller’s career as a Fellow of the Royal Society emerges as an important case study in the fusion of visual and scientific practices in early-modern England.

Description

Keywords

50 Philosophy and Religious Studies, 5002 History and Philosophy Of Specific Fields

Journal Title

Perspectives on Science

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1530-9274
1530-9274

Volume Title

27

Publisher

MIT Press Journals
Sponsorship
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/M001938/1)