Innovations in Encompassing Large Scenes

A panoramic scene of the countryside
Curators
Peter Otto
Abigail H. Nedeau-Owen
Date Published:

In late-18th and early-19th century Britain, popular interest in "scenes" that exceed or lie beyond the everyday world was heightened by factors such as the emergence of London as Europe's first world-city; James Cook's and George Vancouver's voyages of discovery, which completed in outline the modern map of the globe; and improvements in transport and communication technologies, which brought the distant into the orbit of the near. The consequent appetite for large scenes, evident in the cult of the sublime, was met in part by new virtual-reality technologies—most notably the Eidophusikon, Panorama, Moving Panorama, and Diorama—and an entertainment industry based on them.

Matrimonial--Harmonics

A loud living room scene

This image depicts the failure of harmony in the marriage previously represented (in its partner print) as a harmonious courtship. Harmony is used as a visual pun in each print to convey first, the appealing fantasy of romance, and then the harsh reality of a marriage originating in such a fantasy.

Harmony Before Matrimony

A young couple play musical instruments together

This image depicts courtship as typically conceived by the Romantic imagination, as a moment of finding or establishing figurative harmony; such a moment or situation was dependent on the prior, elegant education of young ladies in certain, socially-mediating arts.

Treatise on Sound, Plate 3

A diagram depicting "vibrations in solid bodies"

This scientific diagrams depicts "vibrations in solid bodies," including rods and plates. In the image, Herschel presents readers with another set of experiments that helps them conceptualize the movement of sound through space, again depending on the visual. Figures 36-41 involve the vibrations of a rod either resting against a wall or free.

Outlines of Experiments and Inquiries Respecting Sound and Light, Plate VII

A diagram explaining octave and variant systems of tuning

This image depicts an octave as rendered differently by each temperament. Young particularly emphasizes circumference Y, which represents the system that Young found most effective: twelve-tone equal temperament. The image depicts an octave and variant systems of tuning, or "temperament." The octave is represented by the circumference of the circle.

Outlines of Experiments and Inquiries Respecting Sound and Light, Plate VI

A diagram explaining various properties of sound

Using mathematical techniques, this image visually depicts aural phenomena: the sound waves produced by playing an octave. The image uses scientific diagrams to depict sound waves and vibrational patterns. The specific phenomena depicted by the various figures and the import of these depictions are discussed at length below.

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