Exhibition on Croatian 17th-century mathematician and physicist Marin Getaldić on view by 26 June
The National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) is presenting Marin Getaldić – 400 years later (Marin Getaldić – 400 godina poslije), an exhibition spotlighting the legacy of Croatia’s greatest mathematician and physicist at the turn of the 17th century.
After a welcome address by the NSK Director General Dr Ivanka Stričević at the exhibition’s opening, a Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) and the Head of the Academy’s Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science Vjekoslav Jerolimov gave a brief overview of Getaldić’s achievements and their relevance to both Croatian and European science. The Head of the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media’s Directorate for Archives, Libraries and Museums Anuška Deranja Crnokić also greeted the audience.
The legacy of an internationally acclaimed Croatian scholar
The exhibition was presented by its author, Scientific Adviser at the Academy Dr Marijana Borić, who particularly emphasised the importance of bringing the story of Getaldić’s life and legacy to the general public, especially to younger generations. The opening programme also featured a performance by actor and student at the University of Zagreb’s Academy of Dramatic Art Lav Novosel, who gave an inspiring reading of excerpts from Getaldić’s works.
Apart from Getaldić’s works and selected academic and popular resources thematising his life and accomplishments, the exhibition material also includes the instruments that he constructed and used in his research. A particularly valuable part of the display, these artefacts – similar to his mirror preserved at the National Maritime Museum in London – embody the experimental nature of Getaldić’s research and thus a marked departure from the methodology of the Renaissance period.
The relevance and progressiveness of his earliest ideas were recognised by François Viète, “the father of modern algebraic notation”, who encouraged Getaldić to publish his work. Sharing the very forefront of the scientific debates of his age soon afterwards, Getaldić subsequently carried on a lively correspondence with Galileo, Christopher Clavius, Christopher Grienberger, Paul Guldin and other greats of world science.
Getaldić’s works in NSK’s collections digitised
Displayed at the opening were the original copies of the great scholar’s works preserved in NSK’s collections, including De resolutione et de compositione mathematica, libri quinque, his most significant writing. Published posthumously, in 1630, it was read by Descartes, which in itself speaks volumes about the ideas that Getaldić conveyed in it.
Held as part of the NSK Manuscripts and Old Books Collection, it has been digitised during the exhibition’s preparation and made available along with other Getaldić’s works in the Collection on the NSK Digital Collections website.
Offering a synergy of several perspectives on Getaldić’s works, the exhibition display fuses interactive and multimedia content with artwork inspired by Getaldić, bringing his biography and oeuvre closer to the audience in a dynamic and interesting way.
Photo: © NSK