Thinking 3D from Leonardo to the present

For centuries, artists and scientists have wrestled with how to convey three-dimensional objects on the page. Using some of the Bodleian Libraries’ finest books, manuscripts, prints and drawings, Thinking 3D tells the story of the development of three-dimensional communication over the last 500 years.

The exhibition shows how new techniques, developed from the Renaissance onwards, revolutionized the way that ideas in the fields of anatomy, architecture, astronomy and geometry were relayed and ultimately how this has influenced how we perceive the world today. Timed to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, the exhibition shows how Leonardo and his contemporaries made great strides in the realistic depiction of 3D forms.

  "Polyhedral models in the book Polygons and Polyhedra: Theory and History (Vielecke und Vielflache: Theorie und Geschichte) by Max Brückner, 1900."  
Polyhedral models in the book Polygons and Polyhedra: Theory and History (Vielecke und Vielflache: Theorie und Geschichte) by Max Brückner, 1900. Brückner was a German geometer known for making many geometric models of polyhedra (solid shapes with many plane faces) and stellated polyhedra (shapes in which the edges and planes have been extended outwards). Image credit: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford.

Thinking 3D explores technological advances up to the present day including 3D modeling, photography and stereoscopy; and also highlights the works of modern practitioners and researchers in Oxford.

The list of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci on loan from the Royal Collection and currently on show is available here.

The exhibition has been reviewed by:

The exhibition has been recommended by:

Additional resources

In response to requests from local schools, the Bodleian Libraries are gradually developing resources to use in their exhibitions and in the classroom.

For the Thinking 3D exhibition, the Exhibition Officer has developed the following trails:

Please feel free to use these with your students!

More information on school visits are available here.

Download exhibition guide.

More information is available here.

DETAILS