Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae

Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae ("The Great Art of Light and Shadow") is a 1646 work by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher.^[1] It was dedicated to Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans and published in Rome by Lodovico Grignani. A second edition was published in Amsterdam in 1671 by Johann Jansson.^[2]^: xxxiii Ars Magna was the first description published in Europe of the illumination and projection of images.^[3] The book contains the first printed illustration of Saturn and the 1671 edition also contained a description of the magic lantern.^[4]^: 15

Ars magna lucis et umbrae followed soon after Kircher's work on magnetism, Magnes sive de Arte Magnetica (1641) and the title was a play on words. In his introduction Kircher notes that the word 'magna' alluded to the powers of the magnet, so that the title could also be read "The Magnetic Art of Light and Shadow".^[5] The work was well known for several decades.^[6]^: 101

^ Helmar Schramm; Ludger Schwarte; Jan Lazardzig (22 August 2008). Collection - Laboratory - Theater: Scenes of Knowledge in the 17th Century. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 273–. ISBN 978-3-11-020155-0. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
^ Merrill, Brian L. "Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680): Jesuit scholar : an exhibition of his works in the Harold B. Lee Library collections" (PDF). fondazioneintorcetta.info/. Friends of Brigham Young University Library. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
^ Robert Bud; Deborah Jean Warner; Simon Chaplin (1998). Instruments of Science: An Historical Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 365. ISBN 978-0-8153-1561-2. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
^ Cite error: The named reference Godwin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ John Glassie (8 November 2012). A Man of Misconceptions: The Life of an Eccentric in an Age of Change. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-101-59703-3.
^ Stuart Clark; S. Clark (29 March 2007). Vanities of the Eye: Vision in Early Modern European Culture. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-925013-4. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

[SchrammSchwarte2008-1] Helmar Schramm; Ludger Schwarte; Jan Lazardzig (22 August 2008). Collection - Laboratory - Theater: Scenes of Knowledge in the 17th Century. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 273–. ISBN 978-3-11-020155-0. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

[Brigham-2] Merrill, Brian L. "Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680): Jesuit scholar : an exhibition of his works in the Harold B. Lee Library collections" (PDF). fondazioneintorcetta.info/. Friends of Brigham Young University Library. Retrieved 17 April 2020.

[BudWarner1998-3] Robert Bud; Deborah Jean Warner; Simon Chaplin (1998). Instruments of Science: An Historical Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 365. ISBN 978-0-8153-1561-2. Retrieved 13 July 2020.

[Godwin-4] Cite error: The named reference Godwin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Glassie2012-5] John Glassie (8 November 2012). A Man of Misconceptions: The Life of an Eccentric in an Age of Change. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-101-59703-3.

[ClarkClark2007-6] Stuart Clark; S. Clark (29 March 2007). Vanities of the Eye: Vision in Early Modern European Culture. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-925013-4. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

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