The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700

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The English Virtuoso: Art, Medicine, and Antiquarianism in the Age of Empiricism

Secondary Title (i.e. Proceedings Title): Periodical Title: Publication Type:Book, Whole Authors:Hanson,Craig Ashley
 Editors: Publisher:University of Chicago Press Place of Publication:Chicago Publication Date:2008 Alternate Date (i.e. Conference Date): Volume: Issue: Start Page: End Page: Abstract:Contrary to twentieth-century criticism that cast them as misguided dabblers, English virtuosi in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were erudite individuals with solid grounding in the classics, deep appreciation for the arts, and sincere curiosity about the natural world. Reestablishing their broad historical significance, The English Virtuoso situates this polymathic group at the rich intersection of the period’s art, medicine, and antiquarianism. At the heart of this profoundly interdisciplinary study lies the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, which from its founding in 1660 served as the major professional organization for London’s leading physicians, many of them prominent virtuosi. Craig Ashley Hanson reveals that a vital art audience emerged from the Royal Society—whose members assembled many of the period’s most important nonaristocratic collections—a century before most accounts date the establishment of an institutional base for the arts in England. Unearthing the fascinating stories of an impressive cast of characters, Hanson establishes a new foundation for understanding both the relationship between British art and science and the artistic accomplishments of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Introduction 1 Art as “a Grace to Health”: Physic and Connoisseurship at the Early Stuart Court 2 From the “Applying of Colors” to “the Politer Parts of Learning”:Art and the Virtuosi after the Restoration 3 “The Extream Delight” Taken “in Pictures”:Physicians, Quackery, and Art Writing 4 “Assuming Empirick” and “Arrant Quack”: Antiquarianism and the Empirical Legacy of Don Quixote 5 “Inspiring Reciprocal Emulation and Esteem”: Dr. Richard Mead and Early Georgian Virtuosity Conclusion
 Descriptors/Keywords:medicine
connoiseurship
antiquarianism
Earl of Arundel
Royal Society
John Evelyn

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Documents in Print Item: No Documents Listed in Print Item Attached People: Subject of/in a document - Evelyn, John (1620-1706)
Subject of/in a document - Royal Society (-)
Subject of/in a document - Salmon, William (1644-1713)
Subject of/in a document - Povey, Thomas (1613/14-c.1705)
Subject of/in a document - Stukeley, William (7 Nov 1687-3 Mar 1765)
Subject of/in a document - Howard, Thomas (Arundel) (1585-1646)
Mentions or references - Radcliffe, John (1650 [bap.]-1714)
Mentions or references - Woodward, John (1 May 1665 or 1668-25 Apr 1728)
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