‘Acutezza’ and ‘Figure ingegnose’: The Aesthetics of Natural Philosophy in the Saggi di naturali esperienze of the Accademia del Cimento

This article focuses on the representation of experimental practice and the illustrations of scientific instruments in the Saggi di naturali esperienze of the Accademia del Cimento. I highlight two essential rhetorical concepts to better understand the academy’s representation of its activities: the rhetorical category of acutezza (acute, ingenious thinking) and figura ingegnosa (in this case, illustrations of the scientific instruments as symbols of the academicians’ intellectual brilliance). Both rhetorical strategies are prominently explained in Emanuele Tesauro’s Il Cannocchiale Aristotelico one of the central intellectuals of the Baroque and serve as a way to deepen our understanding of the activity of the Cimento. I also contribute biographical details to “Il Cinodiana”, the engraver of the instruments, active in the entourage of the Accademia dei Gelati. In addition, I attribute drawings of the instruments in connection with the Saggi to Vincenzo Viviani, trained in draughtsmanship by the Florentine artist Baccio del Bianco.

This article focuses on the representation of experimental practice and the illustrations of scientific instruments in the Saggi di naturali esperienze of the Accademia del Cimento. I highlight two essential rhetorical concepts to better understand the academy's representation of its activities: the rhetorical category of acutezza (acute, ingenious thinking) and figura ingegnosa (in this case, illustrations of the scientific instruments as symbols of the academicians' intellectual brilliance). Both rhetorical strategies are prominently explained in Il Cannocchiale Aristotelico by Emanuele Tesauro, one of the central intellectuals of the Baroque, and serve as a way to deepen our understanding of the activity of the Cimento. I also contribute biographical details to "Il Cinodiana,"the engraver of the instruments, active in the entourage of the Accademia dei Gelati. In addition, I attribute drawings of the instruments in connection with the Saggi to Vincenzo Viviani, trained in draughtsma...