Moon: Copernicus and crater
Moon / James Nasmyth, 1851. - 4. Copernicus and crater: painting by James Nasmyth of part of the surface of the Moon, dated 16 April 1851. 143.5x123cm.
James Nasmyth started observing the moon in the 1840s, while running a revolutionary engineering business in Manchester. He tried to use the most up-to-date lunar map published by German astronomers but found the two-dimensional line drawing did not equate easily with the three-dimensional surface he observed. He therefore produced a series of sketches and paintings, from hundreds of observations, focusing on the light and shadow created by the moon’s pitted surface.
Details
- Category:
- Art
- Object Number:
- 1956-153/4
- Materials:
- paper (fibre product) and canvas (textile)
- Measurements:
-
overall: 1435 x 1230 mm
Overall framed: 1560 mm x 1350 mm x 70 mm,
- type:
- painting
- credit:
- University of Oxford Observatory