Speculations on Series Through Quattrocento Dust

During my investigation of the Gubbio and Urbino studioli, two small image-filled chambers with trompe-l’oeil wood inlay conceived for Duke Federico da Montefeltro in the late fifteenth century, several curious aspects regarding dust came to light. The following notes speculate on an alignment of artisanship with philosophy, centering on the writings of Lucretius and works by Piero della Francesca and Leonardo da Vinci. While it is possible that these associations were simply a result of things “in the air,” a colloid of related and unrelated matters, it is striking that dust serves as a medium of transmission in each scenario. Of what? Speculations was featured in Volume 3 of Architecture & Series

“Speculations on Series Through Quattrocento Dust,” Architecture & Series, Vol. 3, ed. D. Wiszniewski (Edinburgh: Ampersand, 2011) pp. 13-17