Capturing the world: Looking Devices and 18th Century painting
Fri, Jun 05
|Richmond Library Annexe, online, replay
Discover how the camera obscura transformed the way eighteenth-century Europeans saw the world, revealing the surprising connections between art, science, perception, and the rise of modern visual culture.
Time & Location
Jun 05, 2026, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Richmond Library Annexe, online, replay, Quadrant Rd, Richmond TW9 1DH, UK
About the Event
In eighteenth-century Europe, the camera obscura occupied a fascinating position between science, entertainment, and artistic practice. This optical device projected the external world onto a flat surface, enabling artists to study perspective, light, and spatial relationships with remarkable accuracy. At a time when art was increasingly concerned with landscape, topography, and empirical observation, the camera obscura complemented Enlightenment ideals of seeing and knowing. While not a substitute for artistic skill, it provided painters, draughtsmen, and amateur observers with a new way of engaging with the visible world, helping to shape the naturalistic vision that became a hallmark of eighteenth-century art.
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