{"id":101,"date":"2018-06-19T13:10:18","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T17:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/?page_id=101"},"modified":"2025-07-17T11:52:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T15:52:15","slug":"women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Women Authors of Science and the <em>Comedy<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Women Authors of Science and the <em>Comedy<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n<nav style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"is-responsive wp-block-navigation is-layout-flex wp-container-core-navigation-is-layout-db721894 wp-block-navigation-is-layout-flex\" aria-label=\"sections\" \n\t\t data-wp-interactive=\"core\/navigation\" data-wp-context='{\"overlayOpenedBy\":{\"click\":false,\"hover\":false,\"focus\":false},\"type\":\"overlay\",\"roleAttribute\":\"\",\"ariaLabel\":\"Menu\"}'><button aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Open menu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-open\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.openMenuOnClick\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\"\n\t\t\t><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 7.5h16v1.5H4z\"><\/path><path d=\"M4 15h16v1.5H4z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container\"  id=\"modal-1\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--has-modal-open=\"state.isMenuOpen\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--is-menu-open=\"state.isMenuOpen\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-watch=\"callbacks.initMenu\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--focusout=\"actions.handleMenuFocusout\"\n\t\t\t\ttabindex=\"-1\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-close\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-dialog\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-modal=\"state.ariaModal\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.ariaLabel\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--role=\"state.roleAttribute\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button aria-label=\"Close menu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-close\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.closeMenuOnClick\"\n\t\t\t><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"m13.06 12 6.47-6.47-1.06-1.06L12 10.94 5.53 4.47 4.47 5.53 10.94 12l-6.47 6.47 1.06 1.06L12 13.06l6.47 6.47 1.06-1.06L13.06 12Z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-content\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-watch=\"callbacks.focusFirstElement\"\n\t\t\t id=\"modal-1-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__container is-responsive wp-block-navigation\"><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/crafting-a-cosmos\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Crafting a Cosmos<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/mapping-hell-cartography-and-the-comedy\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Mapping Hell<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/dante-and-the-new-world\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Dante &amp; the New World<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/infernal-geometry\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Infernal Geometry<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/stars-and-moonspots-dantes-astronomy\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Stars &amp; Moonspots<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/envisioning-the-heavens-purgatory-and-paradise\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Envisioning the Heavens<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/archeology-and-mathematics-dante-in-the-19th-century\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Archeology &amp; Mathematics<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/hells-beasts-and-bodies-the-anatomy-of-hell\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Hell\u2019s Beasts &amp; Bodies<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Women Authors of Science &amp; the Comedy<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/nav>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:37px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-1a149459 wp-block-group-is-layout-grid\" style=\"background-color:#faf3e6\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy\/d40_aeon3448_qb41-p5-1559m\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-170\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"895\" height=\"1244\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/63\/2018\/06\/D40_AEON3448_QB41-P5-1559m.jpg\" alt=\"De la sfera del mondo; De le stelle fisse [The Sphere of the World; On the Fixed Stars]\" class=\"wp-image-170\" style=\"width:200px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>1. <em>De la sfera del mondo; De le stelle fisse<\/em> [The Sphere of the World; On the Fixed Stars]<\/strong><br>Alessandro Piccolomini (1508\u20131578)<br>Venice, Italy: Giovanni Varisco and Company, 1559<br>Brown University Library, Lownes Science Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy\/d37_aeon3448_qb41-p5-1559m\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-220\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1802\" height=\"2500\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/63\/2018\/06\/D37_AEON3448_QB41-P5-1559m.jpg\" alt=\"De la sfera del mondo; De le stelle fisse [The Sphere of the World; On the Fixed Stars]\" class=\"wp-image-220\" style=\"width:200px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>2. <em>De la sfera del mondo; De le stelle fisse<\/em> [The Sphere of the World; On the Fixed Stars]<\/strong><br>Alessandro Piccolomini (1508\u20131578)<br>Venice, Italy: Giovanni Varisco and Company, 1559<br>Brown University Library, Lownes Science Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy\/d41_aeon1841m\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-172\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1185\" height=\"1620\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/63\/2018\/06\/D41_AEON1841m.jpg\" alt=\"Opere di Dante Alighieri [Works of Dante Alighieri (Volume One)]\" class=\"wp-image-172\" style=\"width:200px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>3. <em>Opere di Dante Alighieri<\/em> [Works of Dante Alighieri (Volume One)]<\/strong><br>Dante Alighieri (1265\u20131321)<br>Venice, Italy: Antonio Zatta, 1757<br>Brown University Library, Chambers Dante Collection<br>Full Title: \u201cThe Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri adorned with various annotations, and copious engravings. Dedicated to the Holy Imperial Majesty Elizabeth Petrowna Empress of all the Russias. By the Count Don Cristoforo Zapata de Cisnero\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy\/d42_aeon904-b1727\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-173\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"860\" height=\"1244\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/63\/2018\/06\/D42_AEON904-B1727.jpg\" alt=\"La Divina commedia di Dante Alighieri\" class=\"wp-image-173\" style=\"width:200px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>4. <em>La Divina commedia di Dante Alighieri<\/em><\/strong><br>Dante Alighieri (1265\u20131321)<br>Padua, Italy: Giuseppe Comino and Giovanni Antonio Volpi, 1726<br>Brown University Library, Chambers Dante Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy\/d39_aeon2766_1s-fe-l86m\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-174\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"950\" height=\"1282\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/63\/2018\/06\/D39_AEON2766_1S-FE-L86m.jpg\" alt=\"Ad Astra\" class=\"wp-image-174\" style=\"width:200px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>5. <em>Ad Astra<\/em><\/strong><br>Margaret Armstrong (1867\u20131944) and Helen Maitland Armstrong (1869\u20131948)<br>New York, New York: R. H. Russell, 1902<br>Brown University Library, Chambers Dante Collection<br>Selections from the Divine Comedy by Dante; text and translation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807\u20131882)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Women shaped scientific and literary culture through their patronage, connections, intellectual acumen and art. These books showcase women&#8217;s interpretations of Dante&#8217;s poem and how their authorship influenced its content, illustration and reception. Mathematician Alessandro Piccolomini dedicated his astronomical treatise <em>On the Fixed Stars<\/em> to poet and scholar Laudomia Forteguerri, citing her deep knowledge of Dante and natural philosophy <strong>(1, 2)<\/strong>. In the eighteenth century, Venetian publisher Antonio Zatta pulled out all the stops to produce the first fully illustrated edition of the century for the Empress of Russia, Elizabeth Petrowna <strong>(3)<\/strong>. Petrowna is known for founding the first national university in Russia, and is among many erudite women to whom the <em>Comedy<\/em> was dedicated in the early modern period. Zatta also enlisted the prominent artists and intellectuals of his city to collaborate on the volume. Indeed, for a dedicatee of such stature, only Dante would suffice. Her patronage contributed to Dante\u2019s international status in the eighteenth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notable eighteenth-century literati commented that the frontispiece of the <em>Comedy<\/em>\u2019s 1726 edition was beautifully executed, \u201cdespite being drawn in the hand of a woman.\u201d The engraving, a copy of an earlier diagram, was circulated in the majority of eighteenth-century editions, and concretized how the structure of hell was perceived in this era <strong>(4)<\/strong>. Illustrated by the Florence-born Margaret and Helen Maitland Armstrong, <em>Ad Astra<\/em> includes selections from the celebrated English translation of the <em>Comedy<\/em> by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow <strong>(5)<\/strong>. Margaret was among a number of important cover designers and book illustrators of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Helen was mostly known for her works in stained glass, but she also illustrated many literary volumes with her sister, including authors such as Tennyson. Her artistic formation might have contributed to the distinctive art nouveau style of the illustrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Women Authors of Science and the Comedy Women shaped scientific and literary culture through their patronage, connections, intellectual acumen and art. These books showcase women&#8217;s interpretations of Dante&#8217;s poem and how their authorship influenced its content, illustration and reception. Mathematician Alessandro Piccolomini dedicated his astronomical treatise On the Fixed Stars to poet and scholar Laudomia <a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Women Authors of Science and the &lt;em&gt;Comedy&lt;\/em&gt;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-full-width-no-menu.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-101","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":399,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/101\/revisions\/399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}