Strindberg’s Celestrographs




The 19th-century Swedish dramatist August Strindberg was also an aspiring photographer and scientist. Believing that lenses distorted the true picture of the cosmos, he exposed silver bromide photographic plates to the night sky in a developing bath. He assumed that the plates would act like a mirror, creating a perfect reflection of the sky. Strindberg presented his developed images, which he dubbed celestographs, to the Socitété Astronomique in Paris, where they were dismissed by astronomers. The abtract designs he had captured had nothing at all to say about the picture of the cosmos, but spoke volumes about role of chance in chemical reactions. They are compelling in their failure.
UPDATE: The always wonderful Cabinet Magazine published a thoughtful essay about Strindberg’s celestographs in its third issue. Also at Cabinet, Strindberg’s own essay “On Chance in Artistic Creation.” The images above come from Alchemy & Mysticism: The Hermetic Museum.
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