תעתיק 🔗
1
00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:02,230
Announcer: This is
a Getty podcast.
2
00:00:05,690 --> 00:00:07,414
Host: When was the last
time you had the chance to
3
00:00:07,414 --> 00:00:08,650
look at something up close?
4
00:00:09,099 --> 00:00:09,790
How close?
5
00:00:10,260 --> 00:00:13,809
What about really, really close?
6
00:00:13,809 --> 00:00:15,820
[Theme music begins]
7
00:00:15,820 --> 00:00:19,400
Welcome to If Objects Could
Talk, the podcast where art
8
00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:24,119
and artifacts come alive to
tell their side of the story.
9
00:00:24,789 --> 00:00:27,830
Today, you’ll have to get
in close because we’re
10
00:00:27,830 --> 00:00:29,849
hearing from something small.
11
00:00:30,170 --> 00:00:34,499
It’s so small you’d struggle
to see it if it wasn’t pinned
12
00:00:34,509 --> 00:00:36,120
in place by a piece of glass.
13
00:00:36,599 --> 00:00:40,579
That’s right, our friend lives
on the slide for a microscope.
14
00:00:40,889 --> 00:00:44,579
They’re a flea from a cat,
which I know because the words
15
00:00:44,669 --> 00:00:48,529
“flea from a cat” are written
in French right there on the
16
00:00:48,529 --> 00:00:51,089
slide in very fancy handwriting.
17
00:00:51,089 --> 00:00:51,089
18
00:00:51,090 --> 00:00:51,685
[Upbeat classical music plays]
19
00:00:51,685 --> 00:00:54,759
This slide has been stored
in the case alongside a
20
00:00:54,770 --> 00:00:58,659
French compound microscope
that was made around 1751.
21
00:00:59,359 --> 00:01:02,849
The microscope has delicate
glass lenses and shiny
22
00:01:02,899 --> 00:01:06,729
gilded bronze decorations
made in the Rococo style.
23
00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,249
That’s a word that is as fun
to say as it is to look at.
24
00:01:10,809 --> 00:01:14,789
The microscope is
objectively magnificent.
25
00:01:15,349 --> 00:01:19,219
Our guest, meanwhile,
is—well, a flea.
26
00:01:20,500 --> 00:01:22,099
Flea: Greetings, one and all!
27
00:01:22,799 --> 00:01:27,640
I am the flea on the slide,
specimen, subject, star!
28
00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,399
[triumphant music]
29
00:01:31,399 --> 00:01:31,399
30
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:32,739
You may now cheer!
31
00:01:32,739 --> 00:01:35,489
[sound of crickets] Hmph.
32
00:01:35,489 --> 00:01:36,710
Crickets for a flea?
33
00:01:37,019 --> 00:01:39,879
Maybe you haven’t heard,
but I’m a pretty big deal.
34
00:01:40,290 --> 00:01:42,999
If I wasn’t, why would they
make my permanent dig so fancy?
35
00:01:43,439 --> 00:01:47,659
Let me tell you about my home.
[laughs and then sighs]
36
00:01:47,659 --> 00:01:49,809
I live in the drawer
inside a case
37
00:01:49,829 --> 00:01:51,729
of a very fancy microscope.
38
00:01:52,379 --> 00:01:55,849
It was made in
Paris around 1751.
39
00:01:55,849 --> 00:01:58,199
There are 10 like it that
we know of, and one of
40
00:01:58,199 --> 00:02:02,260
them even belonged to Louis
the 15th, King of France.
41
00:02:02,260 --> 00:02:04,000
[triumphant music] His
collection had some of
42
00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,449
the finest scientific
instruments in the land.
43
00:02:06,449 --> 00:02:07,429
[Mellow classical music]
44
00:02:07,429 --> 00:02:10,140
This microscope was not
just for looking at things.
45
00:02:10,369 --> 00:02:13,259
It was a status symbol
with every detail
46
00:02:13,259 --> 00:02:14,759
executed to reflect that.
47
00:02:15,330 --> 00:02:18,660
The case is wood covered
with gilded leather and gilt
48
00:02:18,690 --> 00:02:20,749
bronze hinges and clasps.
49
00:02:20,750 --> 00:02:23,799
Along with the extra lenses
for the microscope and tiny
50
00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,929
tweezers, the microscope is
equipped with a wide range
51
00:02:26,929 --> 00:02:29,800
of accessories for its use
that are still in the case.
52
00:02:30,809 --> 00:02:34,439
There are also other glass
slides like mine that hold other
53
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,919
specimens, like geranium petals,
a strand of hair, fly wings.
54
00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,090
[fly buzzes] Poor guy.
55
00:02:42,039 --> 00:02:43,849
And an ant.
56
00:02:44,550 --> 00:02:46,090
I do not speak to the ant.
57
00:02:46,860 --> 00:02:47,371
Ant: Hey!
[garbled chatter]
58
00:02:47,372 --> 00:02:47,372
59
00:02:47,372 --> 00:02:50,949
Flea: The ant thinks it’s so
cool because it can carry 50
60
00:02:50,949 --> 00:02:52,629
times its own body weight.
61
00:02:53,289 --> 00:02:54,089
Congratulations!
62
00:02:54,419 --> 00:02:57,420
I can jump 150 times
my body length!
63
00:02:57,420 --> 00:03:00,550
Do the math, ant.
64
00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:02,780
Do the math.
65
00:03:03,590 --> 00:03:04,390
I’m distracted.
66
00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,240
Oh, well, it is in my nature
to jump from thing to thing.
67
00:03:08,250 --> 00:03:08,260
Hmph.
68
00:03:08,260 --> 00:03:09,520
[Light classical music]
69
00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,320
When the microscope case
is open, [case creaks open]
70
00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,049
you will see it is lined
with green silk velvet.
71
00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,459
Not cotton, not
felt—silk velvet.
72
00:03:20,139 --> 00:03:22,650
So luxurious, so opulent.
73
00:03:23,289 --> 00:03:26,069
You have to open this case with
the appropriate level of awe
74
00:03:26,070 --> 00:03:27,219
and appreciation for Rococo.
75
00:03:28,559 --> 00:03:30,989
Rococo isn’t just a
mouthful, it’s an eyeful.
76
00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:35,490
Rococo is a style that
was fashionable in
77
00:03:35,490 --> 00:03:36,990
Europe in the 1700s.
78
00:03:37,590 --> 00:03:40,830
It emphasized the beauty of
nature, like seashells and
79
00:03:40,860 --> 00:03:45,019
leaves and swirls and curlicues
on absolutely everything.
80
00:03:45,129 --> 00:03:45,469
Oh!
81
00:03:45,469 --> 00:03:49,090
[Classical music chord]
82
00:03:49,090 --> 00:03:51,669
This microscope stands
on four feet shaped
83
00:03:51,669 --> 00:03:52,909
like acanthus leaves.
84
00:03:53,649 --> 00:03:56,340
Big curling leaves twisting
into elegant C shapes.
85
00:03:56,549 --> 00:03:59,079
The body is gilded bronze,
Load full transcript
which means bronze with
86
00:03:59,079 --> 00:04:00,399
a layer of gold on top.
87
00:04:00,399 --> 00:04:02,220
[high pitch twinkle] The
lens tube is covered in
88
00:04:02,589 --> 00:04:04,320
green shagreen, which
is polished shark skin.
89
00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:06,540
[water moves] At the
top, the lens tube.
90
00:04:06,750 --> 00:04:09,979
In the middle, gears and dials
so precise they still turn
91
00:04:09,979 --> 00:04:13,980
smoothly today, [gears shifting]
more than 270 years later.
92
00:04:14,299 --> 00:04:17,480
If you’ve ever seen a microscope
or used one at school, or a
93
00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,529
science center or a museum,
you’d recognize mine.
94
00:04:20,750 --> 00:04:24,170
Although I highly doubt yours
was this gold, this fancy,
95
00:04:24,170 --> 00:04:27,869
or this great that it would
still work centuries later.
96
00:04:28,509 --> 00:04:31,370
My fancy microscope and the
others like it weren’t the
97
00:04:31,419 --> 00:04:32,889
only ones around at the time.
98
00:04:33,099 --> 00:04:36,590
There were simpler ones, less
gilded, less shark-skin-y.
99
00:04:36,590 --> 00:04:40,690
[voice yawns] Those were
accessible to a much wider
100
00:04:40,690 --> 00:04:43,869
range of people: a scholar,
[a page turns] a physician,
101
00:04:43,869 --> 00:04:46,349
[voice says “Say ahh…”] a monk
or a nun in a monastery [monks
102
00:04:46,349 --> 00:04:48,750
singing] with a library and
a love of the natural world.
103
00:04:49,529 --> 00:04:51,859
Curiosity does not
require gold fittings.
104
00:04:52,189 --> 00:04:54,619
After all, this was the
Age of Enlightenment!
105
00:04:54,619 --> 00:04:56,839
[Triumphant classical
music plays]
106
00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:58,780
People building instruments
to ask questions the naked
107
00:04:58,780 --> 00:04:59,959
eye could not answer.
108
00:05:00,649 --> 00:05:05,100
This microscope—my
microscope—has three lenses
109
00:05:05,119 --> 00:05:07,029
working together in sequence.
[mechanical shifting]
110
00:05:07,029 --> 00:05:09,539
Each one takes what
the last one showed
111
00:05:09,539 --> 00:05:10,750
and makes it larger and clearer.
112
00:05:11,449 --> 00:05:14,619
That’s why it’s called a
compound microscope, multiple
113
00:05:14,619 --> 00:05:17,330
lenses working together to show
what none of them could show
114
00:05:17,330 --> 00:05:22,169
alone, opening up a cosmos that
was hidden before, a fascinating
115
00:05:22,169 --> 00:05:25,859
world of the incredibly
small, and in my case, the
116
00:05:25,860 --> 00:05:28,029
incredibly good-looking.
[bell chimes]
117
00:05:28,029 --> 00:05:28,029
118
00:05:28,029 --> 00:05:30,550
To see through these
lenses, you need light.
119
00:05:30,769 --> 00:05:33,539
In the daytime, the microscope
was placed near a window to
120
00:05:33,539 --> 00:05:35,889
catch sunlight, and in the
evening, candles were needed.
121
00:05:35,889 --> 00:05:38,309
[Classical music continues]
122
00:05:38,319 --> 00:05:42,979
Imagine it: Paris, 1751, a
candlelit room, the scratch
123
00:05:42,979 --> 00:05:46,089
of a quill on paper, someone
making notes about what
124
00:05:46,089 --> 00:05:47,319
appears under the glass.
125
00:05:47,809 --> 00:05:50,439
They’re pressing one eye to the
brass tube, the other squeezed
126
00:05:50,500 --> 00:05:57,399
shut, and suddenly, there I am:
the flea, gorgeous, magnificent,
127
00:05:57,969 --> 00:06:01,790
total package, my adorable
cat-like whiskers, my body
128
00:06:01,790 --> 00:06:04,160
like a polished suit of armor.
[metallic clunk]
129
00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:04,160
130
00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:05,820
It’s giving: hero.
[triumphant trumpet]
131
00:06:05,820 --> 00:06:09,509
You know, someone called
me a knight once.
132
00:06:09,509 --> 00:06:11,450
[voice says “no way.”]
It’s true. I’ll tell
133
00:06:11,450 --> 00:06:12,219
you about it later.
134
00:06:12,619 --> 00:06:15,440
Uh, back to the someone with his
eye pressed to the brass tube.
135
00:06:15,730 --> 00:06:16,860
Who was that someone?
136
00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:19,699
It was Michel Ferdinand d’Albert
d’Ailly, Duc de Chaulnes.
137
00:06:23,549 --> 00:06:27,169
That is a name you say slowly
and with your chin slightly
138
00:06:27,199 --> 00:06:30,160
raised, if you are fortunate
enough to have a chin.
139
00:06:30,939 --> 00:06:33,019
Let’s say that together,
and if you have a chin,
140
00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,219
lift it a little higher:
Michel Ferdinand d’Albert
141
00:06:37,219 --> 00:06:43,459
d’Ailly, Duc de Chaulnes.
142
00:06:43,459 --> 00:06:44,100
Nice!
143
00:06:44,100 --> 00:06:44,869
The Duc de Chaulnes
144
00:06:44,869 --> 00:06:46,569
was a pioneering scientist.
145
00:06:46,669 --> 00:06:48,630
[typing sounds] He
made major discoveries
146
00:06:48,630 --> 00:06:51,219
in optics, geography,
astronomy, and physics.
147
00:06:51,789 --> 00:06:54,780
He was invited to join the
Academy of Sciences, the
148
00:06:54,780 --> 00:06:57,320
official group for important
thinkers like the Duc.
149
00:06:57,320 --> 00:06:58,135
[triumphant horns]
150
00:06:58,135 --> 00:06:59,359
[Classical music resumes]
151
00:06:59,359 --> 00:07:03,230
He was also very close with
King Louis the 15th, and
152
00:07:03,230 --> 00:07:05,589
helped design the cabinet
of curiosities for the king.
153
00:07:06,739 --> 00:07:11,070
He even invented the micrometric
stage, a cutting edge tool
154
00:07:11,110 --> 00:07:13,789
that enabled the very precise
measurement of specimens.
155
00:07:14,339 --> 00:07:15,900
What a gift to science!
156
00:07:16,459 --> 00:07:16,849
Oh! [sighs happily]
157
00:07:18,379 --> 00:07:20,899
The Duc might have
kept his microscope in what was
158
00:07:20,900 --> 00:07:25,399
called a cabinet de curiosité,
a small room that held a private
159
00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:27,869
collection of natural marvels.
[voices say “ooh!”]
160
00:07:27,869 --> 00:07:30,140
Like shells, bones, feathers,
161
00:07:30,169 --> 00:07:31,480
and other specimens.
162
00:07:32,049 --> 00:07:38,599
Specimens like me!
[triumphant horns]
163
00:07:38,599 --> 00:07:38,599
164
00:07:38,599 --> 00:07:41,199
Well, at least they
tried to be like me.
165
00:07:41,610 --> 00:07:43,199
You do what you can
with what you’ve got.
166
00:07:43,629 --> 00:07:45,780
Let me tell you a
story about that.
167
00:07:45,780 --> 00:07:46,650
[Classical music resumes]
168
00:07:46,650 --> 00:07:49,309
[crickets chirping] Outside the
Paris city limits, the light
169
00:07:49,339 --> 00:07:52,210
in the countryside was long
and golden through the windows.
170
00:07:52,909 --> 00:07:55,899
A boy, maybe 10 years old,
had been running through
171
00:07:55,899 --> 00:07:57,359
the home, causing mayhem.
172
00:07:58,189 --> 00:08:00,399
I could hear him from my case.
[child running and laughing]
173
00:08:00,399 --> 00:08:00,399
174
00:08:00,399 --> 00:08:03,390
I overheard his father
tell him to go outside and
175
00:08:03,399 --> 00:08:06,450
bring back subjects for
scientific investigation.
176
00:08:07,069 --> 00:08:10,639
That did the trick, because the
boy ran out of the door and did
177
00:08:10,649 --> 00:08:12,250
not return for almost two hours.
178
00:08:13,050 --> 00:08:14,370
Nice and quiet.
179
00:08:15,319 --> 00:08:17,940
When the boy came back
inside, bringing the noise
180
00:08:17,940 --> 00:08:21,580
and mud with him, he did
not return empty-handed.
181
00:08:21,819 --> 00:08:23,589
[crickets chirp and door shuts]
He had several teeny-tiny
182
00:08:23,599 --> 00:08:26,740
objects for review under the
microscope: a sliver of tree
183
00:08:26,740 --> 00:08:30,509
bark, assorted flower petals
in different sizes and colors,
184
00:08:30,699 --> 00:08:33,049
a clump of dirt, and a leaf.
185
00:08:33,889 --> 00:08:35,653
His father went to his desk
and opened the microscope case.
186
00:08:35,653 --> 00:08:38,769
[door creeks open] The
green silk velvet, the
187
00:08:38,769 --> 00:08:39,859
gleaming instrument. [gasps]
188
00:08:39,860 --> 00:08:43,559
One by one, the two
of them placed these little
189
00:08:43,619 --> 00:08:46,760
collected treasures on the
microscope, and the boy pressed
190
00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,999
his eye to the tube and saw
a new world unfold: craters
191
00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,640
in the bark, rivers of veins
through the flower petal
192
00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,260
and leaf, and tiny crystals
in the spattering of soil.
193
00:08:58,340 --> 00:09:01,290
When they ran out of the garden
things to look at, they reached
194
00:09:01,300 --> 00:09:05,620
for my slide, because I am
a headlining act, you know!
195
00:09:06,540 --> 00:09:11,030
[triumphant horns] The boy was
quiet for a moment, and then
196
00:09:11,030 --> 00:09:15,560
he said, “It’s armored! [metal
clinks] It has armor like a
197
00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:19,040
knight and whiskers like a
cat.” [cat meows] And then he
198
00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:20,409
said the best thing of all!
199
00:09:20,510 --> 00:09:23,089
He said I have so
much character!
200
00:09:23,089 --> 00:09:26,650
[cheers exuberantly] Boy,
that made me feel good.
201
00:09:27,149 --> 00:09:30,139
I might be a little guy, but
I’ve got lots of character,
202
00:09:30,489 --> 00:09:31,829
and someone noticed!
203
00:09:32,829 --> 00:09:34,890
I have never forgotten that.
204
00:09:36,029 --> 00:09:37,710
It’s nice to be seen.
205
00:09:38,369 --> 00:09:40,889
When is the last time you
looked closely at something?
206
00:09:41,430 --> 00:09:43,579
You do know you don’t need
to be a duke or have a
207
00:09:43,579 --> 00:09:46,459
case lined in silk velvet
to ask good questions and
208
00:09:46,629 --> 00:09:47,620
look closely at the world.
209
00:09:48,239 --> 00:09:50,129
Your school may
have a microscope.
210
00:09:50,449 --> 00:09:53,630
A science center or museum
near you almost certainly does.
211
00:09:54,049 --> 00:09:57,409
You might even find a simple
one at home, probably without
212
00:09:57,410 --> 00:10:00,689
a single drop of gilded bronze
on it, but with every bit
213
00:10:00,689 --> 00:10:03,729
as much power to open that
door to the small world.
214
00:10:04,099 --> 00:10:07,869
So here is what I want you
to do: find a microscope, and
215
00:10:07,869 --> 00:10:11,600
when you do, find something
small and seemingly ordinary,
216
00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:15,520
and take another look at
it, a real look, the kind
217
00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:17,069
where you lean in and study
218
00:10:19,589 --> 00:10:19,809
what you’re looking at.
219
00:10:19,809 --> 00:10:21,199
What do you see that you
have never seen before?
220
00:10:21,979 --> 00:10:22,700
How can you describe it?
221
00:10:23,329 --> 00:10:24,079
How would you draw it?
222
00:10:24,790 --> 00:10:27,469
Do you feel like the first
scientists who got to look at
223
00:10:27,470 --> 00:10:30,540
things up close and then figure
out how to share these new
224
00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:32,109
worlds with the whole big world?
225
00:10:33,540 --> 00:10:35,429
Do let me know what you found.
226
00:10:35,629 --> 00:10:37,549
I like keeping track
of all the exceptional
227
00:10:37,549 --> 00:10:40,250
characters that might one
day replace this pesky ant.
228
00:10:41,759 --> 00:10:41,769
Hmph!
229
00:10:41,889 --> 00:10:45,250
Now, if you will excuse me, I
have a slide case to get back
230
00:10:45,250 --> 00:10:50,270
to—silk velvet, gold fittings,
the most magnificent microscope
231
00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:52,789
in the history of small things.
232
00:10:52,789 --> 00:10:55,229
[Theme music begins]
233
00:10:55,229 --> 00:10:57,079
Host: I hope you
enjoyed learning about
234
00:10:57,079 --> 00:10:58,859
Rococo and microscopes.
235
00:11:00,329 --> 00:11:04,380
Join us next time when a brave
cat bounds into the studio.
236
00:11:05,149 --> 00:11:07,440
[cat meows] To see photographs
of the microscope as well
237
00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:11,369
as videos of it in action,
visit our website at
238
00:11:11,369 --> 00:11:13,649
Getty dot edu slash IOCT.
239
00:11:15,839 --> 00:11:18,599
We’ve also got a listening
guide with discussion questions
240
00:11:18,660 --> 00:11:20,399
and related activities there.
241
00:11:21,300 --> 00:11:24,129
This episode was written
by Tocarra Elise and
242
00:11:24,129 --> 00:11:25,840
produced by Zoe Goldman.
243
00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,519
Yeon Jin voiced the flea.
244
00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:33,220
Theme music, mixing, and sound
design by Alexandra Kalinowski.
245
00:11:33,759 --> 00:11:36,070
Christopher Sprinkle
is executive producer.
246
00:11:36,639 --> 00:11:39,429
Special thanks to curators
Anne-Lise Desmas and
247
00:11:39,429 --> 00:11:42,029
Miriam Schefzyk, as
well as Rebekkah Hart.
248
00:11:42,330 --> 00:11:44,359
These stories are
historical fiction.
249
00:11:44,599 --> 00:11:47,439
They’re based on historical
facts and deep research,
250
00:11:47,449 --> 00:11:50,279
but we’ve filled in the
gaps to make a good story.
251
00:11:50,879 --> 00:11:53,740
If you have questions about
what you’ve heard, write to us
252
00:11:53,940 --> 00:11:56,950
at podteam at getty dot edu.
253
00:11:57,300 --> 00:11:58,300
Catch you next time!