Portret van Frederick William Herschel

This is Friedrich Wilhelm Bollinger’s portrait of Frederick William Herschel, made sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. Herschel, who stares off to the right with his coat’s collar turned up, appears against a backdrop of stars and a crescent moon. Herschel, a German-born British astronomer, composer, and music teacher, occupies a unique place in the history of science. A self-taught astronomer, he discovered Uranus in 1781, which brought him international fame and a position as court astronomer to King George III. This portrait encapsulates the enlightenment values of scientific inquiry and discovery. It also suggests something of the tension between science and art, a tension Herschel knew well as a scientist and accomplished musician. The image’s softness also hints at the more personal dimensions of Herschel’s dedication to the stars, to knowing our place in the vast cosmos. It serves as a reminder of how individuals shape and are shaped by the pursuit of knowledge.