Maria Clara Eimmart
German, 1676–1707
Aspects of Saturn
Lunar phases observed on 29 August 1697
Full Moon
Aspects of Jupiter
1693–1698
mixed media on paper
Alma Mater Studiorum — Università di Bologna | Sistema Museale di Ateneo | Museo della Specola
These four poster sized portrait orientation works are hung side by side in frames that give them a wide border and measure 33 inches tall by 27 inches wide. Their backgrounds are painted bluish black and they feature representations of planets painted in browns and the moon painted in a brownish grey.
Furthest left is “Aspects of Saturn”. It shows 19 various observable planetary phases of Saturn and Latin text on the top translates as “Observed by astronomers”.
Next is “Lunar phases observed on 29 August 1697” It shows an almost crescent moon lying horizontal and the text tells that the artist has drawn it from the original or archetype, by looking through the telescope.
Next is ”Full Moon”. Furthest right is “Aspects of Jupiter” It shows 10 various observable aspects of Jupiter and it’s satellites and Latin text on the top translated as “Observed by astronomers”.
The following is the full audio description of “Full Moon”
The moon takes up most of the image. The background is a blueish black, and the moon itself is painted in grey-brown with white and brown markings. Its surface which has craters called maria appears textured and resembles that of a cantaloupe and is with ridges and valleys. At the top of the image in old-fashioned serif and slightly italicized lettering is the inscription in Latin “Plenilunium” and under this the words “pinxit ad Archetypum M. C. Eimmarta. Norimb.” This translates roughly as “full moon painted from the archetype by M. C. Eimmart. Nuremberg”.
The shape of the moon is perfectly round. I will now describe it in halves beginning from the left. The left half of the moon has many darker brown areas which are craters. It has lighter areas inside of each of these, which are circular or oblong in shape; the darker brown areas have a more random edging. White lines cross the darker brown areas and connect to the lighter circular areas inside them. On the left side close to the middle on the vertical axis near the outer edge is a bright white arc with a circle at its center.
The right half of the moon has a few of the darker brown splotches. They are smaller in size and not as defined. Their shades lighten and blend into the grey-brown of the moon on this side. There are also many circular dots. Some have a darker interior, and some have an interior, which is white. Towards the bottom on the right, light curving lines begin to sweep towards the centre bottom of the moon where they join, connecting to a circle with a white centre like at the bottom of a cantaloupe.
Exhibition label text:
Maria Clara Eimmart created over 350 drawings of the surface of the moon and planets within our solar system.
Eimmart was born into a family engaged with both art and astronomy. Her father had a private observatory built into the city walls of Nuremberg, Germany, where she made precise renderings of celestial bodies she viewed through a telescope. By training as her father’s apprentice, Eimmart was able to pursue the study of languages, mathematics, astronomy, drawing, and engraving, unlike the majority of her female contemporaries.