Herschel’s Galaxy I

This artwork composed using gold leaf on paper is by Desmond Lazaro (b. 1968).

It is inspired by the first modern image of the Milky way produced by William Hershel (1738-1822), a British astronomer, in 1785. Herschel mapped his observations from 600 locations while plotting the night sky section by section to create the model. Every recognised star was designated with a cross dependent on its size. The data was evaluated and stitched together to create the first standard non-circular image of the galaxy. Desmond’s mark-making on this work resembles Herschel’s process, and he mirrors the astronomer’s galaxy with a cluster of crosses marked by gold leaf-raised gild on paper.

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