Style Imitating Art: The Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium

Style Imitating Art…

Welcome to Style Imitating Art which comes from Salazar, Shelbee, and me. You can think of this series as fashion meets art museum! SIA challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. Shelbee is this week’s curator with a place rather than a work of art. I hope you enjoy this post, the information, and my interpretation.

How it works…

Every other Monday one of us selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. We then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, we share our outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. Shelbee chose this week’s art work for this round of Style Imitating Art. If you’d like, you can read why she chose it here. Please send your photo to Shelbee by Tuesday, December 17th, 2024 by 10 pm EST. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.

About the artist…

This is going to be a little different because Eise Eisinga wasn’t an artist per se. He was a wool carder who happened to be a genius! Born in Frisia, a province of the Netherlands, Eisinga was an amateur astronomer born on February 21, 1744 to Jelte Eises, a wool carder, and Hitje Steffens. For some reason, he wasn’t allowed to go to school, but he wrote a book about mathematics when he was 17 as well as another on the principles of astronomy! Eisinga wrote additional books within the field of astronomy but continued carding wool for his entire life.

A little more…

Eisinga married Pietje Jacobs when he was 24 and had three children (a girl and two boys). A political crisis in 1787 resulted in a move to Germany. He moved to a village in the Netherlands but was banned from Frieland for five years. After the death of his first wife, he married Trijntje Eelkes Sikkema in 1792 and had three more children (a son and two girls).

Still more…

In 1774, Eisinga began construction of an orrery. In simple terms, an orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system. Obviously, there are some problems when constructing one. The sizes and distances of planets are relative as they would take up too much space due to the actual ratio differences. Eisinga expected to finish his orrery in six months. He decided to build one because there was a belief something huge was about to occur. This was because Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter were to be in conjunction on May 8, 1774. A Reverend Eelco Alta interpreted this celestial event as a return “to the state of the planets on the day of creation and a likely occasion for Armageddon.” He predicted “the planets and the moon would collide, with the result the earth would be pushed out of its orbit and burned by the sun (source).”

Even more…

Eisinga decided his orrery would prove Alta’s predictions wrong. Well, time, apparently did that, as it wouldn’t be until 1781 that Eisinga finished his orrery! It is built into the timber roof of the living room ceiling of his historic canal house. William I, Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands, purchased the house. It later became a royal planetarium. It is now known as the Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium and is a museum and open to the public. In September 2023, it was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the oldest working orrery in the world. Eisinga died on August 27, 1828. He was 84.

The museum…

While it was once a private home, now, the Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium has the planetarium room, a screening room as well as special exhibits based on modern astronomy. Interestingly, Eisinga’s former wool combing instruments and a collection of historical astronomical instruments are on permanent display. The astronomical instruments include Georgian telescopes, 18th century octants (instruments used in navigation), and an educational model of the sun, earth, and moon.

The art work…

It’s a little difficult to describe this piece of art as, technically, it’s not art. But, in reality, it’s as beautiful as most art I’ve ever seen. This orrery was created in Eisinga’s living room.

“The orrery is painted with royal blue glimmer and outlined in shiny gold paint. The Sun is painted at the center of the ceiling.  The Earth is represented by a golden orb dangling on a wire.  The zodiac is also depicted.  The clockwork-like mechanical planetarium moves as it does in reality at a reduced scale. The planetarium is very exact, but is not perfect. The pendulum, for instance, is made of a single type of metal so it is influenced by temperature fluctuations (source).”

In addition,

“The ‘face’ of the model looks down from the ceiling of what used to be his living room, with most of the mechanical works in the space above the ceiling. It is driven by a pendulum clock, which has 9 weights or ponds. The planets move around the model in real time, automatically. (A slight ‘re-setting’ must be done by hand every four years to compensate for the February 29th of a leap year.) The planetarium includes a display for the current time and date. The plank that has the year numbers written on it has to be replaced every 22 years (source).”

A little more…

Ten thousand handmade nails were used to create the gears for the model. There are also displays of the phases of the moon and other astronomical phenomena. Remember, this is the oldest orrery still working…in the entire world! Here is a recent video. The sound quality isn’t wonderful, but the enthusiasm of the visitor certainly is!

My interpretation…

It’s funny. This was one Style Imitating Art I was certain of my interpretation. But, the more I looked at it, the more I realized my first pick wasn’t the right color. For this challenge, I went with the Bhumika jersey dress from Gudrun Sjödén. The color seemed a little better, but what really stood out for me were the concentric circles found scattered around my dress. The bits of gold color also mimic the gold painting of the orrery. Next came a Gudrun Sjödén scarf and ivory slip.

The Lewk!

I don’t have any gold or teal boots so I went with my Ocean Leighton boots from Miz Mooz to blend in rather than stand out. I bought these bracelets as part of a set at the end of the summer from Allie & Bess. There are several small bead bracelets and the jade colored one. The stock there is constantly changing so I can’t link to mine. Kellyann introduced me to this brand. You might be able to use her code for 20% off…it’s KELLYANN20. The necklace and the earrings are from J Crew. I saw the earrings on Black Friday, but they didn’t have the necklace. I snapped them both up on Cyber Monday, though! The long matching earrings and the necklace are on a huge clearance right now. I thought my jewelry did a good job of picking up on the gold of the orrery.

Wrap it up, Marsha!

OK, so let’s talk about the elephant in the room. My face looks a little strange, right? I had two laser procedures on Thursday. The sun damage on my face has bothered me for a long time. I spend a lot of money on facials and skin care, so this was just another step in preserving my skin as best I can without going under the knife. Friday, my face was swollen a bit…I could actually see my cheeks! Right now, my face feels like sandpaper as the MENDS come to the surface. MENDS are microscopic epidermal necrotic debris which will eventually flake off. Hopefully, I’ll have a wonderful result. Today was the first day I wore makeup other than sunscreen. So, can we talk? Don’t you find it amazing a young man with very little formal training not only wrote books on mathematics and astronomy but also created this gorgeous orrery? Have you ever visited one? How do you feel about astronomy? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.

Don’t forget…

If you want to be included in the Style Imitating Art round up, send Shelbee your photo by 10:00 pm EST Tuesday, December 17th. Photos of everyone participating will appear on her blog on Wednesday, December 18th! If you’re interested in join us, consider all of your options…the colors, the figures, the math. Come on, give it a try! I think you’ll love it!

Thank you!

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

Affiliate links, discount codes and such:

Just a reminder that Marsha in the Middle may use an affiliate link. Those links are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link I provide, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support. I am an April Cornell Brand Ambassador for another season. You can use my code, MARSHA15, for $15 off any order over $100. Use Marsha12 for 12% off any order of $65 or more at Buykud. I have also become a Halftee Partner. Use the code, MARSHA2098, for 20% off any purchase. I am also an affiliate with Clara Sunwoo. You can use my code, MARSHA20, for 20% off your entire order just until December 31st. In case you didn’t know, bloggers must disclose the use of affiliate links. That’s why I include this in each post.

Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

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