Wonders of Creation, a last look

Wednesday, February 26
1:00 p.m. PT
Virtual Event

In this tour we take a last look at The San Diego Museum of Art’s special exhibition Wonders of Creation: Art, Science, and Innovation in the Islamic World, which closed in January and has now traveled to the McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College. Wonders of Creation explores intersections of art and science in Islamic intellectual and visual culture from the 8th century to the present, using the lens of “wonder” as defined by an influential 13th-century Islamic cosmography describing the universe. Written in Arabic and Persian by Zakariyya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini and entitled The Wonders of Creation and the Rarities of Existence, this text catalogues the marvels of the universe in a single, richly illustrated book. We willl explore a few of the exhibition’s 200 works through the framework of Qazwini’s text. Following the book's narrative through the celestial and terrestrial realms, we will have an opportunity to view art that connects with topics such as astronomy, astrology, natural history, medicine, and geometry. Join us as we travel the world visually journeying to Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the modern diaspora.

Star map depicting the Northern & Southern celestial hemispheres (with constellations inscribed in Devanagari). India, Jaipur, ca. 1780. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper. Pritzker Collection, Chicago. Photo credit: Michael Tropea.