Agenda

January 9-10 2025
Online Workshop

Renaissance machines and their representations have been central to scholarly inquiry at the intersection of the history of science and technology, economic and art history. Due to the pivotal role of machinery in shaping our world over the past four centuries, scholarly interest has often been genealogical, focusing on the utilitarian functions of these devices— particularly those related to warfare, engineering, hydraulic and industrial technologies, and timekeeping. However, as art historian Eugenio Battisti demonstrated, Renaissance machines were more than mere mechanical instruments for achieving practical goals; they also carried profound symbolic meaning. For example, in the mid-16th century, transparent rock-crystal cases made the inner workings of clocks fully visible, transforming cogs and springs into objects of both symbolic and aesthetic value. Gears became wonders, encased in precious, transparent materials, akin to holy relics. In decorative contexts—such as the frieze of the Ducal Palace of Urbino, heraldic devices, presentational books of Renaissance engineers, “theatres of machines,” representations of the Machina Mundi, and clockmaking—gears and machines emerged as symbolic artifacts, embodying a culture that intertwined multiple narratives around these mechanical elements. To the modern eye, this may be difficult to grasp, as toothed wheels, once meticulously crafted by skilled artisans, are now primarily associated with mechanization and mass production. This workshop offers contributions that go beyond traditional historiography to explore Renaissance machines as symbolic objects. We aim to reflect on the contextualized history of machines, considering antiquarianism, ingenuity, mathematical magic, and politics through their material, ekphrastic, rhetorical, and visual representations.

Zoom link

Complete programme in the brochure attached. For further information, please contact: cristiano.zanetti@unive.it

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101025015.