◤ Science in the sixteenth century

The history of science and scientific thought in the sixteenth century is a subject that is both
intrinsically very difficult and also still very obscure. Its historiography has only quite recently
emerged from a long-accepted teleological pattern which contrasted an obscurantist, or at least,
irrelevant medieval view of science with the modern methods of experimental and inductive
science as it was held to have developed in the 'scientific revolution Man is subject to
immutable laws because he is held to be part of the cosmos with its immutable laws. He is
indeed a microcosm of the macrocosm of the universe.
The earth was a sphere at the centre of the universe, the sublunar sphere of imperfect, material
bodies. Beyond the earth, and revolving around it, were the perfect and incorruptible celestial
spheres containing the moon, sun, planets and stars and ascending, in increasing purity, to the
outermost sphere and, beyond this again, to God himself. The contemplation and study of this
orderly, hierarchical cosmos and of the laws of nature was as much a part of the contemplation
and study of God as were theology and philosophy.
◤ Contributions
Renaissance painters, habit of close and accurate observation of nature.
Vesalius: the first book on anatomy with clear illustrations
Geometry in the theory of perspective
Space was not something rather undetermined between the objects but a geometrical concept
which had to be constructed
The “discovery of space”. The need to define the position of the objects geometrically with
relation to other objects and not inherent to their qualities. This led to the formulation of the
laws of mechanic.
◤ Philosophical and psychological origins of the scientific revolution
The scientists' view of the nature of the universe and of their role in discovering it.
There is a pervasive pattern or divine order of all existing things. Man could apprehend this
divine order through experience and intellect and he could see it in all the myriad
transformations which occurred in nature.
Understanding these transformations, the artist and the scientist could both imitate nature and
beyond that, make new combinations and transformations. In this way, at least on a human
level, he could emulate divine creativity.
The understanding of nature was an understanding of the laws which governed it. The concept
of the laws of nature had appeared in a rudimentary form with the Greeks. It assumed a divine
creator who had given laws to the cosmos. These laws were regarded as applying to all-natural
phenomena and all created beings.
“unnaturally” they were thought to have broken the laws of nature.
The laws of nature were regarded as rational and comprehensible. Since they were divinely
ordained, there was no inherent opposition between theology and science. Difficulties arose
from the Churches‘ traditional claim that theology was the queen of the sciences and that all
others were her handmaidens.
The scientists therefore attempted to fence off their work from interference by the theologians
by drawing dividing lines between the realm of religion and that of science or, as they said, of
natural philosophy. But was this possible?
who was to draw the line, the scientist or the theologian?
◤ The importance of practical problems
To solve practical problems often proved to be a stimulus to the development of scientific ideas
and practice and transfer those theories and skills from one field to another.
Mathematicians were very important. They developed, armies, artillery, maps, invent cyphers
among others.
To start thinking the universe in mechanical terms
Agricola, he studied mines (techniques and geology). He also contributed to chemistry and the
development of mining technology.
William Gilbert studied magnetism (the earth was a magnet and latitudes)
Technology and theoretical science touched each other at some points, but as frequently ignored
each other.
◤ Classical Greek Treatises
• ancients did not agree among themselves about quite fundamental problems of science and
that it would be necessary to
• the scientific literature of the ancients was of the most dubious value. (translations)
• the possibilities for misunderstanding and misinterpreting classical works were still immense.
• Hermetica by Egyptian priest, Hermes Trismegistus. It was a collection of treatises on
philosophy, astrology, magic and other occult arts, dating from the first to the fourth century A .
D.
◤ New thinkers
Copernicus: his willingness to substitute the sun for the earth as the centre of the cosmos. (idea
taken from Ptolomey in the Hermetica)
Copernicus's great achievement was to work out the detailed mathematics of an astronomical
model in which the earth and all the planets revolved around the stationary sun. He developed
and elegant system based on observation.
His system was not as a mathematical hypothesis but as a fully-fledged new cosmology
Thyco Brahe: appearance and disappearance of a new star which, as Tycho's measurements
proved, was situated far beyond the supposed lunar sphere of the traditional cosmos,
demonstrated the fallacy of the view that all celestial bodies were incorruptible and not subject
to growth and decay as were those of the sublunar sphere.
His method: accurate, systematic observation of natural phenomena over an extended period of
time and a willingness to draw the logical conclusions from observed data and calculations,
even if these contradicted time-hallowed theories.
Kepler: Kepler's religious veneration for the sun made both Copernicus's and Tycho's systems
unacceptable to him, for he saw the sun as the actual motive force of the planets. the available
observational data fIt into a coherent theory, and the intellectual honesty to reject his most
cherished hypotheses when these did not fit.
The discovery of the elliptical shape of the planetary orbits and of the fact that a line drawn
from a given planet to the sun would describe equal areas in equal time - a fact which implied
that celestial bodies did not move with uniform velocity, as had always been assumed
Galileo: rejection of an essential philosophical difference between the material world and
geometrical figures. He believed with Plato in the aesthetic perfection and beauty of the circle
and the sphere. Since God had created the universe beautiful and harmonious it followed that
the movements of the heavenly bodies had to be circular. He confirmed that the sun was in the
center.
His deliberate break with academic tradition in writing his scientific works not in Latin but in
Italian, and in a most beautifully clear and readable Italian at that, and finally his clashes with
the Roman Inquisition.
◤ Interest in Science
Vesalius, too, who played a great role in the foundation of the famous medical school of Basle.
William IV of Hesse established the first permanent astronomical observatory in Europe with a
full-time professional mathematician in charge.
Frederick II of Denmark provided the young Tycho Brahe with his magnificent observatory of
Uraniborg, on the island of Hven, with a team of trained observers could cooperate in
systematic programmes of observation.
Some academies even were founded specifically for and by scientists.
Science would help to come at ease after all the religious trouble.
Baroque in music
Elements
• The Basso Continuo (Figured Bass).
• One mood throughout the entire piece.
• Important String sections.
• Modes were replaced by the Major/Minor key system.
• Many different forms are used (e.g. Binary, Fugue)
• Many types of music, e.g. The Chorale, Opera, the Dance Suite.
• Energetic rhythms (Exuberance), long melodies, many ornaments, contrasts (especially
dynamics, but also in timbres)
The invention of several new forms and designs, such as:

 Opera
 Sonata
 Oratorio
 Suite
 Fugue
 Concerto
The orchestra started to take shape, mainly in the strings, and the violins became the dominant
instrument, and most important in orchestras.
Bach, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Purcell
BAROQUE IN ITALY
Some of the qualities most frequently associated with the Baroque are grandeur, sensuous
richness, drama, dynamism, movement, tension, emotional exuberance, and a tendency to blur
distinctions between the various arts.
Baroque style in Italy is the direct result of the Counter-Reformation. The Church needs a
powerful style of art to use in the fight against Martin Luther—and that’s exactly what the
Baroque style is—it is powerful, dramatic, muscular, sometimes frightening, and it really gets to
you! Bernini, one of the greatest artists of the Baroque period, worked in Rome, often for the
papacy like Michelangelo before him.
THE BAROQUE IN CENTRAL EUROPE AND SPAIN
As in the Netherlands, the 17th century era of Baroque art was the Golden Age of Spanish
painting. Freed of most Italian elements, and sponsored by an uncompromising Catholic Church
- strongly supported by devout Hapsburg Emperors - Spanish Baroque artists adopted a severe
and noble style of Catholic Counter-Reformation art, which combined line and colour as well as
the graphic and the pictorial, and involved such an acute sense of observation that no other age
or style of Christian art has been able to exceed it in truthfulness. It was the Spanish school, in
concert with masters of the Dutch Baroque in Holland, that effectively guided European
painting along the path of naturalistic realism.
RUBENS
Flemish painter who was the greatest exponent of Baroque painting’s dynamism, vitality, and
sensuous exuberance. Though his masterpieces include portraits and landscapes, Rubens is
perhaps best known for his religious and mythological compositions. As the impresario of vast
decorative programs, he presided over the most famous painter’s studio in Europe. His powers
of invention were matched by extraordinary energy and versatility. Rubens combined various
technical methods and genres and his subject matter consisted of religious figures, historical
works, hunting scenes and animals, portraits and landscapes.