Zonnestelsel 1706

Sébastien Leclerc I created this print of the solar system in the Netherlands sometime in the late 17th or early 18th century. This image of the cosmos is full of period meaning. Note the concentric rings, a very old trope that emphasizes the cyclical nature of time and celestial movement. Leclerc was working during a period of huge breakthroughs in astronomy and physics. The scientific revolution saw the emergence of institutions like the Royal Academy of Sciences in France or the Royal Society in England. These academies gave thinkers a place to debate old ideas and form new ones. A look through the archives of such institutions might tell us more about how the image’s symbolism engages with the debates of its time. We can appreciate this print as an intervention into the era's changing understanding of our place in the universe.