![](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/20/125/large_thumbnail_1943_0184.jpg)
Moon: Craters, South East Tycho
![Moon: Craters, South East Tycho](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/30/823/medium_1956_0153_0006.jpg)
Moon / James Nasmyth, 1851. - 6: Craters, South East Tycho: painting by James Nasmyth of part of the surface of the Moon, dated 1851. 130x147cm.
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:
- 1956-153/6
- Materials:
- paper (fibre product) and linen (textile)
- Measurements:
-
overall (including secondary support): 1305 mm x 1490 mm
- type:
- painting
- credit:
- University of Oxford Observatory