Vienna: University District

Bellotto’s engagement with empirical observation began in Venice, whose specialized glassmakers supplied lenses for microscopes, telescopes, and camera obscuras. By 1760, Vienna too had become a hub for scientific inquiry. The reformed university, Jesuit astronomy, and medical innovations under court physician Gerard van Swieten fostered an atmosphere where optical devices were extensively used and empirical methods flourished. Bellotto celebrates the city’s university district in two views, showing the Jesuit College and new aula, including the observatory towers that marked Vienna’s rise as a center of Enlightenment science. Grounded in close observation, Bellotto’s art follows the recommendation of Francesco Algarotti—a Venetian polymath and acquaintance of Canaletto—who urged painters to study nature with a scientist’s eye.