During a time of globalization, colonization, and warfare, Europeans in the Renaissance embraced new technology even as they lamented its destabilizing consequences.
Renaissance Invention, explores the conception of novelty and technology through an unprecedented study of Nova Reperta, a late 16th-century print series that celebrated the marvels of the age, including the stirrup, the cure for syphilis, and the so-called discovery of America. Designed in Florence and printed in Antwerp, the Nova Reperta images circulated widely, shaping Europeans’ perceptions of the innovations that were changing the world and breeding anxiety about the future.
In Renaissance Invention, materials from the Newberry’s collection will appear alongside armor from the Art Institute of Chicago and astronomical instruments from the Adler Planetarium, transporting visitors to a time of change, disruption, and technological development that resembles our own today.
Mon, Fri & Sat 8:15am – 5pm
Tue - Thu 8:15am – 7:30pm
Sun CLOSED
Open to the public
Trienens Galleries
The Newberry
60 West Walton Street
Chicago, IL
41.8997581, -87.6304977
Renaissance Invention: Stradanus's "Nova Reperta"
