Desmond Lazaro
Herschel’s Galaxy and The Star Cut Diagram, 2020-21
Raised gild and pigment paint on archival paper
30 x 41.5 in | 76 x 105 cm
with frame: 46.75 x 35.25 x 2 in
with frame: 46.75 x 35.25 x 2 in
Copyright The Artist
As an exercise I took Herschel’s image of the Milky Way and superimposed The Star Cut Diagram, interesting to see the harmonic relationships particularly the 1/3 division of the rectangle....
As an exercise I took Herschel’s image of the Milky Way and superimposed The Star Cut Diagram, interesting to see the harmonic relationships particularly the 1/3 division of the rectangle.
- Desmond Lazaro
After the Account of some observations tending to investigate the Construction of the Heavens, Herschel’s initial attempt to illustrate the Milky Way envisaged a rectangle placed with a series of ellipsis, suggesting an elongated galaxy, whereby more stars could be observed in one direction than another. He later revised this illustration to give us the now famous organic, amoebic-like form. The work places his illustration upon a star-cut diagram, a devise used to find the harmonic proportions between a square and a circle. Interestingly, Herschel’s somewhat speculative drawing is mathematically precise!
- Desmond Lazaro
After the Account of some observations tending to investigate the Construction of the Heavens, Herschel’s initial attempt to illustrate the Milky Way envisaged a rectangle placed with a series of ellipsis, suggesting an elongated galaxy, whereby more stars could be observed in one direction than another. He later revised this illustration to give us the now famous organic, amoebic-like form. The work places his illustration upon a star-cut diagram, a devise used to find the harmonic proportions between a square and a circle. Interestingly, Herschel’s somewhat speculative drawing is mathematically precise!