09-03-2018, 01:23 AM
Kircher was quite prolific and his books well illustrated, with many of them drawn by some of the better illustrators of the time. He was definitely a man with connections and one with access to resources (including the Jesuit library).
I have often wondered where the illustrators/engravers got their ideas and whether there might be a common thread between them and the VMS in terms of history and expression.
It doesn't seem likely that Kircher dictated every detail of the drawings. More likely he set out a general theme and the work was "subcontracted" to people who knew what they were doing (and those who knew what they were doing, in the book industry, are constantly looking to earlier precedents for ideas, and ways to speed up production). In conveying his preferences to the craftsman, I wonder how often he pulled a book off a shelf and said, "I want something like this but [instructions for updating the idea here]."
I have often wondered where the illustrators/engravers got their ideas and whether there might be a common thread between them and the VMS in terms of history and expression.
It doesn't seem likely that Kircher dictated every detail of the drawings. More likely he set out a general theme and the work was "subcontracted" to people who knew what they were doing (and those who knew what they were doing, in the book industry, are constantly looking to earlier precedents for ideas, and ways to speed up production). In conveying his preferences to the craftsman, I wonder how often he pulled a book off a shelf and said, "I want something like this but [instructions for updating the idea here]."
