De banen van de Zon en de Aarde 1706

Sébastien Leclerc I created this drawing, "The Orbits of the Sun and the Earth," in the 17th century. During Leclerc's lifetime, the scientific community was experiencing a period of immense change, with traditional understandings of the universe being challenged by new discoveries. Leclerc, as an artist and engraver for the French Royal Academy of Sciences, found himself at the intersection of art and science. This drawing reflects the shift from a geocentric to a heliocentric model of the solar system. It embodies an epistemological shift, one that changed not only how we understood our place in the cosmos, but also who got to define that place. It is a reminder of the power of knowledge, of how what we know shapes who we are, and how both are subject to change. In its own way, this drawing is a testament to human curiosity, and to our unending quest to understand the world around us.