Das Universum in Bildern – Wissen und Vorstellung in Geschichte und Gegenwart

The exhibition of the 102-metre-long cargo ship "MS Wissenschaft" – which travels annually on the rivers through more than thirty cities in Germany and Austria – is dedicated to the "Universe" for the Year of Science 2023. The Kunstshistorisches Institut in Florenz is once again taking part with an exhibit on this year’s theme. Since earliest times, people have formed images of what is happening in the firmament and how the world might have come into being. Mythological, religious or scientific ideas of the world, the cosmic spheres and an afterlife become tangible in 'world pictures'. The exhibit of the Kunsthistorisches Institut consists of an interactive explanatory presentation of such images on two tablets arranged one above the other. The works that appear on the screens in changing combinations come from Mesopotamia, Europe, Mexico or China and range from the oldest civilisations to the present. Diverse interpretations and 'controversies' between imagination, observation and tradition emerge. They touch on central themes of human existence (space, time, matter, body, movement, energy, chaos, order, harmony) and span all the way up to today's research and cosmological theories of natural science.

More information on visiting the MS Wissenschaft is available here.