Specula: Mirrors of Man and Nature

As a collector, Mr. Schoenberg is drawn to major traditions of science, and this exhibition provides numerous examples of this inclination. In particular, he has focused on the transmission of Greek science through the mediation of Arabic and Hebrew translations. His collection documents the extraordinary achievements of Arab and Jewish philosophers and the crucial roles they played in the making of the western scientific tradition. At the same time, the exhibit also makes clear the intimate relationship between art and science. Hebrew manuscripts, for example, so frequently made without images are here displayed with elaborately rendered illustrations and table. Specula reflects a broad variety of representations, from the spheres of the cosmos to the bodies of men.