DON´T FORGET EROTICA

1. Erotica refers to depictions of sexual nature. These depictions are generally artistic in nature. True, it deals with stimulating or sexually arousing subject matter, including painting, sculpture, photography, drama film, music or literature. If an artistic painting can elicit feelings of arousal, that's good! We're sexual beings. 

2. However, one needs to ask the difficult question: Is the erotica of 16-18th centuries an equivalent of our pornography today? If a young person reads Bocaccio's 14th century Decameron would he/she feel sexually aroused?  Yes. And yet, Bocaccio is doing literature. And to complicate matters a bit, Decameron  was censored.

The first instance occurred when the Dominican Friar Girolamo Savonarola incited a bonfire of 'sinful' art and literature in the centre of Florence known later as the "Bonfire of the Vanities" (February 7, 1479). The Decameron was among the works known to have been burned that day.  

3. Erotica harks back to prehistoric times, as seen in the venus figurines and rock art. glyptic art from the Sumerians, votive plaques from Mesopotamia, Assyrian lead votive figurines, China, India, etc.

4. The excavations of Pompeii were undertaken in the 1860s, and revealed much of the erotic art of the Romans. erotic postcards were a luxury during the monarchy in Europe. and many artists worked as erotic artists for x-tra income.

check this excellent display of Carracci's erotic illustrations @ Wikipedia 

plus other erotic engravings,

the wikipedia of 18th century!

Encyclopaedia, or Descriptive Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts and Trades - one of the most important works by French enlightener, writer, philosopher and encyclopaedist Denis Diderot (1713-1784). It was published during 1751-1780 (in 7 vol., with 11 vol. of illustrations and 4 vol. of supplements), and was the crowning glory of the efforts of the French intellectual minds and printers of that time.

the encyclopedia and the mechanical arts claims the following: 

1. The materials and the places where they are found, the manner in which they are prepared, their good and bad qualities, the different kinds available, the required processing before and during their utilization.
2. The main products that are made with them and how this is done.
3. We have supplied the names, descriptions, and diagrams of tools and machines, with their parts when taken apart and assembled; the section of certain molds and other instruments if it is appropriate to know about the interior design, their contours, etc.
4. We have explained and represented the workmanship and the principal operations in one or several plates where sometimes only the hands of the craftsman can be seen and sometimes the entire craftsman in action, working at the most important task in his art or trade.
5. We have collected and defined in the most accurate way possible the terms that are peculiar to a given art or trade.

 This is the wikipedia of

Evolution of types (from bembo up to 19th century)

 

 

this category includes the first Roman types, originally created between the late 15th and mid 18th centuries. 

1. the axis of curved strokes is normally inclined to the left in these designs, so that weight stress is at approximately 8:00 and 2:00 o’clock. 

2. the contrast in character stroke weight is not dramatic, and hairlines tend to be on the heavy side. serifs are almost always bracketed in old style designs and head serifs are often angled. 

3. some versions, like the earlier Venetian old style designs, are distinguished by the diagonal cross stroke of the lowercase "e."

transitional. printer and typographer John Baskerville established this style in the mid 18th century. 

1. these types represent the transition between old style and neoclassical designs, and incorporate some characteristics of each. Baskerville’s work with calendered paper* and improved printing methods (both developed by him) allowed much finer character strokes to be reproduced and subtler character shapes to be maintained. 

2. the strokes normally have a vertical stress. weight contrast is more pronounced than in old style designs. serifs are still bracketed and head serifs are oblique.

a propos of serif, here you are:

now we have,

neoclassical typefaces are created within the late 18th century or their direct descendants. they epitomize the work of Giambattista Bodoni. 

when first released, the Bodoni was called “classical.” yet, printers soon realized these were actually (not updated versions of classic type styles), but altogether new designs! as a result, their classification name was changed to “modern.” since the mid-20th century, they have also been classified as neoclassical or didone. 

1. the contrast between thick and thin strokes is abrupt and dramatic. 

2. the axis of curved strokes is vertical, with little or no bracketing. 

3. in many cases, stroke terminals are “ball” shapes rather than an evocation of a broad pen effect. These tend to be highly mannered designs with clearly constructed letters.

the so-called slab serif typeface became popular in the 19th century for advertising displays. they have very heavy serifs with minimal or no bracketing. generally, changes in stroke weight are imperceptible. to many readers, slab serif-type styles look like sans serif designs with the simple addition of heavy (stroke weight) serifs.

the Clarendon family belongs in the mid-19th century. they are designed as bold faces to accompany text composition. 

1. the stroke contrast is slight, and serifs tend to be short to medium length. 

2. the character stroke weight is more evident than neoclassical, 

3. serifs tend to be longer (less foily than neoclassical).

_______

* it refers to the process of smoothing the paper's surface by pressing it between hard pressure cylinders or rollers—the calendars—at the end of the papermaking process. it's is usually the last step of the process before the paper is cut to standard sizes.

William Blake (the graphic designer)

what you see above belongs in the illuminated manuscript tradition. problem is that Blake does this in the modern era when moveable printing rules. 

 

why is he doing it? because he's a romantic! Blake is influenced by the engravings (he studied) of the works of michelangelo and raphael.

in his painting, as in his poetry, Blake seemed (to most of his contemporaries) to be completely out of the mainstream.  

he became deeply impressed with the work of such contemporary figurative painters as john mortimer, and henry fuseli, who, like blake, preferred to depict dramatically posed nude figures with strong linear contours. in fact, fuseli's extravagant pictorial fantasies freed blake to distort his figures and seek to express his inner vision.

Fuseli's The Nightmare, 1781

 for example, Blake's take on Dante's Divine Comedy has a Buonarotti's feel to it.

Blake is trying a Greek style, which later would be so popular for pre-raphaelites and french artists of the 19th century beaux arts school, like Puvis de Chavannes, who was very famous during his life. 

Émile Zola described his work as "an art made of reason, passion, and will". 

incidentally, Chavannes influenced Picasso. 

"the Caslon" (when type emulates handwriting)

Also known as William Caslon I (1692-1766). 

A famous designer of typefaces. In 1716 he started business in London as an engraver of gun locks and barrels, and as a bookbinder's tool cutter. His work influenced John Baskerville and are thus the progenitors of the typeface classifications Transitional (which includes Baskerville, Bulmer, and Fairfield), and Modern (which includes Bodoni, Didot, and Walbaum). 

This first printed version of the United States Declaration of Independence has Caslon typefaces

The Caslon types fell out of favor in the century after his death, but were revived in the 1840s. Several revivals of the Caslon types are widely used today.  

Characteristics:

1- Short ascenders and descenders, bracketed serifs, moderately high contrast, robust texture, and moderate modulation of stroke.
2- A has a concave hollow at the apex, the G is without a spur.
3- Caslon's italics have a rhythmic calligraphic stroke. A, V, and W have an acute slant.
4- italics p, Q, v, w, and z all have a suggestion of a swash.   

USE IT! 

It has superior legibility, beautiful curves and lines with varied weight and tension. Caslon lends itself very well to books or official documents that require large amounts of reading. In large size, Caslon  lends a touch of class as a headline.

the NEW anatomy & physiology of Andrea Vesalius (De Humani corporis fabrica, 1543)

the aesthetic of Vesalius' De Humani Corporis* casts renaissance Humanism in a sort of macabre light. The idea of memento moris, or the sealed fate. To display his knowledge of human anatomy, Vesalius posed his skeletons, partially flayed bodies and flayed bodies in graceful versions of living poses.

De Humani Corporis is based on his Paduan lectures, during which he deviated from common practice by dissecting a corpse to illustrate what he was discussing. here we see a careful examination of the organs and the complete structure of the human body.

the honor of these skillful & detailed studies goes to Jan van Calcar. De Humani Corporis would not have been possible without the many advances made during the Renaissance, including both the artistic and technical development of printing.

 

_________
*Fabrica rectified some of Galen's worst errors, including the notion that the great blood vessels originated from the liver. Even with his improvements, however, Vesalius clung to some of Galen's errors, such as the idea that there was a different type of blood flowing through veins than arteries. It was not until William Harvey's work on the circulation of the blood that this misconception of Galen would be rectified in Europe.

Baskerville's remarkable English print

John Baskerville was a wealthy Birmingham lacquer manufacturer and japanner ("japan" is a sort of hard, black varnish), letter-carver and writing master, recut Caslon's letter in a somewhat wider, rounder, and lighter form.
 

The type itself was not remarkably different from Caslon's, although it was based on the living pen forms of the time. 

 

The way of setting the text, however, was dramatically different:

1- Baskerville used very open spacing between the lines and extremely wide margins.
 

2- The type was printed with unusual care on high-quality hot-pressed Whatman paper developed by Baskerville himself, with inks that were also his own products.
 

3- Baskerville used no decoration at all, and this trend affected the course of typography both in England and in continental Europe (the quality of his printing was remarkable).

See the transition from the 12 o clock from Humanist to Transitional, Baskerville achieves a rationalist axis. 

 

This is the neoclassical touch: A TURN TO REASON.

The consensus is that he is not an inventor but a perfecter. The history of marks needs both. 

why did humanism flourish? it's about celebration, not gloom

If people who live agreeably are Epicureans, none are more truly Epicurean than the righteous and godly. And if it's names that bother us, no one better deserves the name of Epicurean than the revered founder and head of the Christian philosophy: Christ, for in Greek epikouros means "helper." Completely mistaken, therefore, are those who talk in their foolish fashion about Christ's having been sad and gloomy in character and calling upon us to follow a dismal mode of life. On the contrary, he alone shows the most enjoyable life of all and the one most full of true pleasure.- Desiderius Erasmus.

humanism' revival with its emphasis upon art and the senses marked a great change from the values of humility, introspection of the middle ages

nothing expresses the spirit of humanism in drawing like this sketch of leonardo da vinci. 

man is at the center. why inside a circle and a square? 

squaring the circle is a mathematical impossibility posed as a problem by ancient geometers (see this). 

da vinci proposes that humanity breaches the apparent contradiction between the two. a human is the paragon of physical measurement.

renaissance humanism affected the cultural, political, social, and literary landscape of europe. beginning in florence in the last decades of the 14th century, humanism revived the study of science, philosophy, art and poetry of classical antiquity. 

book = enlightenment

What is important about this period from 1600-1800 is the rise of nationalism, rationalism and scientific empiricism. 

Styles pass from the flamboyance of the Baroque to the Rococo to Neoclassicism. 

Book trade grew dramatically serving as a powerful instrument to Enlightenment. 

Book design played a role in the creation of what is known as the public sphere, a virtual space made through the exchange of ideas and information. 

Communities of belief were built on shared reading and thought rather than a common location. New sheets circulated with an air of relevance and urgency and the design of these media helped define what was current and important. In fact the public sphere in the 17th and 18th centuries depended on the availability of printed matter.

Hobbes' Leviathan (1600's).

how do you foster beliefs in society? expose people to (mark) representations

this 1521 engraving shows Reuchlin and Luther (1st and 3rd from left) as the patrons of liberty facing their various enemies.

it feels so far as if we're talking about the past. not so. what's the difference between the engraving above, and this? 

or this?

Walter Cronkite, presumably the first all-powerful anchor in america's tv history

you have to understand the ritual during Conkrite's tenure when more than 9 out of every 10 homes had at least one television set, but viewers had a few shannel choices (and had to watch programs live), leading to communal dinner hour news viewing! no wonder NBC paid Barbara Walters $1M in the 1970 to host the news.

a very interesting story regarding the social importance of pamphlets here.

Once more: Incunabula (the different parts)

incunabula refers to a printed book (not written) before the year 1501. now this is pretty arbitrary. there are two kinds of incunabula, (1) the woodcut, called xylography, and (2) the subsequent "typographic book," made with movable print. (2) is preferred to (1).

as a geographical distribution:

see that as we move to 1500 the printing process spreads all over western europe for a total of about 282 towns!

title pages start appearing circa 1480

like medieval manuscripts, early incunabula did not have title pages (the high cost of animal skin used as the medium did not allow the waste of any part of the material for other than the text). instead, the title, author's name, transcriber's name, place and year of transcription and other related matters were written at the end of the manuscripts.

following the design of manuscripts, printers of incunabula also had the first letter (initial) of the first word of each chapter in large size and in red ink. in the process of printing, the corresponding part of the page for the initial was left blank, and later, a craftsman called a "rubricator" drew a decorative initial in that space. to designate the letter to be drawn, a small form of the letter was sometimes printed in the space beforehand. this small printed letter is called the "guide letter."

1- rubrication: an important process, at the beginning of the page. the capital, the beginning. the process is that the corresponding part of the page for the the R. was left blank, and later, a craftsman called a "rubricator" drew a decorative initial in that space. see that in the text above there is the rubricator and smaller capitals.

2- marginalia: this is kind of our modern end notes in the margin, they provide info, i.e., source of quoted sentences, usually in smaller size types than those used for the main text.

3- double columns: these are explanatory texts around the text, one informs the other.

4- colophon: instead, the title, author's name, transcriber's name, place and year of transcription and other related matters at the beginning, the practice is to have it at the  end of the manuscripts (to save paper, which is very expensive). a colophon page below.

(All images and text taken from INCUNABULA).

the bible translation helped develop the secularization of modern european languages

gutenberg bible, 15th century

what happened? 

though the roman catholic church maintained that only members of the clergy were qualified to interpret the Bible, the new degree of access to religious texts provided by gutenberg's press and bible added a necessary impetus for a growing reformist movement. after Luther's Theses, the printing press became central to the protestant cause and ideology. 

protestantism encouraged the direct questioning of papal authority, accused church officials of abuses of power, and emphasized personal interpretation of scripture. 

freedom of the press!

this french hand color engraving features presses in the background and a mob of people taking sheets and publicly proclaiming their contents. 

print not only spreads information but it gives it authority. 

How scientific disciplines "branch" (why it matters to the history of design)

 

Ptolemaic model of the universe (the planets and sun move around the earth)

Science is a form of design. Why? Any science form has a writing form, a nomenclature. And the symbols matter for their clarity and maneuverability.

For example, Leibniz symbols for equal sign  ( =) was this:  Π

Greeks did not have a symbol for zero,

 (see omicron at the bottom right)

Check this Wikipedia entry,  

Astrology and astronomy were archaically treated together (Latin: astrologia), but gradually distinguished through the Late Middle Ages, into the Age of Reason.

This was precisely my point yesterday. 

Using the term "archaically," Wikipedia looks at the issue from the future of the "branching" of astrology and astronomy. This is important. 

But we excuse Wikipedia for this faux pas. 

My point is that up to the late middle ages, the study of celestial bodies was ONE DISCIPLINE, not two. 

And if you happen to be alive in 1023, 1223, 1323, or even 1523, and you are a scientist studying astronomy, you are not "ignorant" of anything that doesn't belong in YOUR EPOCH, just as much as we, in 2023, are cannot be ignorant of the science in 2223, two hundred years into our future.

right? 

Take Ptolemy and his geocentric model of the universe. If you are a young person in Alexandria (today, Egypt) in 123 AD, and you're a student of Ptolemy, you have a top world scientist as a teacher! 

And you'd be thrilled to use his model to explain the universe!

Yet, looking at Ptolemy's geocentric model from 2023 looks archaic. 

This is our present model.

We always live inside epochs. You and I are contemporaneous to this epoch. Many of the things we take for granted a hundred years from now will simply fade away. I'm talking about knowledge in general.

That's the right approach to history. 

The same happens with the pair alchemy/chemistry. Even Sir Isaac Newton, the most influential physicist of his time and one of the most important scientists in the history of science, believed in alchemy.

If you were a brilliant physics student in the 17th century, you would give anything to study with Newton. 

No matter how "right" you are in your epoch, you are never quite right in the future of that epoch. 

That's why I'm a skeptic. 

Now back to the history of graphic design. I want you to look at history and everything you see in it with the awe of someone who has internalized this: 

No matter how much we think we know, we only know within the boundaries of our time. 

the holy alliance between cartography, technology and graphic design

never forget that the paper map is a representation of what was in the retinal representation of the man who made the map. got it?

push the question back and you find an infinite regress, an infinite series of maps!😁

the map above is by the venetian monk Fra Mauro (1450 ad), one of the greatest memorials of medieval cartography.

have you ever designed a map? you'll confront MANY PROBLEMS, as early geogrephers encountered.

Here are five points of modern cartography (the science of making maps)

1- map editing: set the map's agenda and select traits of the object to be mapped. traits may be physical, such as roads or land masses, or may be abstract, such as regions or political boundaries.

2- map projection: now try to represent the terrain of the mapped object on flat media (this is called geodesics, and projective geometries)

3- map generalization: eliminate characteristics of the mapped object that are not relevant to the map's purpose; reduce the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped.

4- map design: orchestrate all these elements to best convey the map's message to your audience.

Piris Reis map of the Mediterranean basin (17th century).

see that in Reis' map there are no toponyms (regions, political divides). you get PURE TOPOGRAPHY (topos and rivers). this map was geared to an audience interested in topography.
 

Henricus Hondius' World Map (1630)

exploration changed the image of the world. methods of circulating projection and projecting them on a flat surface with a minimum of distortion have been devised, notably by Gerard Merchator. 

see that you get the globe divided into two: equator, circumnavigation, etc. pretty good modern globe map!

Ptolemy's map may look weird but it is not! 

Ptolemy was aware that he knew about only a quarter of the globe, and an erroneous extension of china southward suggests his sources did not reach all the way to the pacific ocean.

bembo part 2, (a deeper analysis that concerns you)

So, recapitulating... "bembo" refers to Griffo's cuts for Manutius, it appears in 1496. Petri Bembi de Aetna Angelum Chabrielem liber, the first use of italics (?) so, is Griffo responsible for the first italics? It seems so.

Bembo is,

1- kind of gothic,
2- kind of cursive, 
3- influenced by the early 15th century miniscule by Niccolo de Niccoli known as cancelleresca corsiva  "chancery hand." the trick is that the pen is held at a fortyfive degree angle for speed. the corsiva is akin to Humanist calligraphy. That is to say, the propagation of letters, knowledge in the form of literature.

a recent development in italics is the Zapfino by Herman Zapf.

What the type above lacks is what this one (by Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi) has.

what am i talking about? 

you cannot expect that court-writing will not become more and more obscure as the practice gets stereotyped, until it was banned altogether in 1731. 

Why? 

it had become esoteric. it had stopped being functional. 

to come back to muy point. what Zapfino lacks is something like this:

it's called character!

one needs to get into the geist of their epoch. each epoch has a type. you designers use types to translate your epoch!