The intention
The 19th-century Swedish playwright August Strindberg was also an aspiring photographer and scientist. Convinced that lenses interfered with the true representation of the cosmos, he developed a new method of capturing impressions from the universe..
The approach
Strindberg placed plates of silver bromide in a bath of developing liquid under the open sky at night. He assumed that the plates would act as a mirror and give a true picture of the cosmos.
The result
The playwright-cum-photographer-cum-inventor called his type of image "celestrograph" and presented it to the "Socitété Astronomique" in Paris.
The astronomers of this renowned society immediately rejected his celestographic images when it turned out that the abstract representations had nothing to do with the universe but were the result of a chemical reaction..
The lessons
Strindberg's efforts in this case have yielded nothing for astronomical science. But Strindberg has made a serious effort to contribute to the exploration of the universe and the further development of photography.. In any case, the 'celestograph' has provided new inspiration for artists to use chemical reactions in their creations..
Author: Bas Ruyssenaars
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