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We review the latest websites and apps
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The Rijksmuseum – Robert Jacob Gordon
Jonathan Knott explores 18th-century South Africa with Robert Jacob Gordon
Robert Jacob Gordon was an 18th-century Dutch explorer, soldier and polymath of Scottish descent who made a series of expeditions in the Cape of Good Hope colony (now part of South Africa).
He recorded his travels in letters, diaries, maps and drawings, which have now been gathered in digital form by Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum on a website that accompanies its current exhibition, Good Hope: South Africa and the Netherlands from 1600 (until 21 May).
Together, the documents and images convey Gordon’s keen interest in the world around
him and create a vivid impression of his expeditions. The 450 drawings, mostly colour, are the most accessible content. Gordon made many careful observations of flora and fauna, but the works also include depictions of local people, action scenes such as a giraffe hunt, and metres-wide landscape panoramas.
But it’s also worth delving into his writings, many of which are translated into English. Clicking on a random map marker took me to a travel journal entry describing how a giraffe carcass was cut up and salted after the animal was shot. “The flesh tastes strongly of the thorn bushes that it eats,” Gordon reports.
The site showcases the strengths of an online document portal. It integrates resources from several other institutions alongside the Rijksmuseum, and the material is well organised.
The site is most easily explored via the Map tab in the top right- hand corner of the landing page, which takes you to an image of a map with navigational markers on it.
Clicking on these, the user can find documents and drawings relating to places Gordon visited and recorded. The ability to flip between Gordon’s maps and a Google map as a background is interesting and illuminating too.
The site’s main purpose is to gather primary material, which it does to good effect. It would
be even better with more interpretative and explanatory content, particularly on Gordon’s role within the colonial system, and the circumstances that led to his suicide in 1795.
Website
William Henry Fox Talbot Catalogue Raisonné
William Henry Fox Talbot was a 19th-century British scientist, inventor and photography pioneer who created images on salted paper and used negatives to develop multiple images.
The aim of this website, launched by Oxford University’s Bodleian Library, is to bring together all of Talbot’s known work. It currently features more than 1,000 images, but the Bodleian says that this will grow to incorporate his entire body of work (25,000 images, held in over 100 collections) by 2018.
Talbot’s artistic eye is highlighted by The Open Door (see top) – a famous photo of a broom by a door with arresting use of composition and light. The faded appearance of some of his shots of Paris and Oxford gives them a haunting quality.
The site is interesting to explore, but I would have welcomed more introductory material about Talbot’s work. Hopefully this will be addressed in the “Explore Talbot’s Themes” section of the website, which is under construction. JK
App
War Childhood Museum
The War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo holds personal belongings, audio and video testimonials, photographs and documents relating to people’s experiences growing up in Bosnia during the conflict of the 1990s. The museum opened in January, following the publication of a book in 2013 that gathered memories from more than 1,000 people.
Those unable to visit Sarajevo can experience what the museum offers through its app, which includes pictures of the museum’s objects, and audio recordings made by the people who donated them. There is a short free introductory “tour”, but it costs £2.99 to get access to the rest of the content.
The objects include toys, a birthday card, and a food tin from a humanitarian aid programme. Some stories are tragic, and made more moving when spoken by the people who lived them. Others demonstrate resilience and ingenuity. The recurrent theme is the contrast between the horror of war and the people’s determination to carry on with ordinary life as far as possible.
This app provides a valuable insight into the experience of conflict, in a way that news bulletins cannot. It is worth the small price, but I fear the cost may still deter some people who would otherwise find the app engaging. JK
Jonathan Knott is a freelance writer
The Rijksmuseum – Robert Jacob Gordon
Jonathan Knott explores 18th-century South Africa with Robert Jacob Gordon
Robert Jacob Gordon was an 18th-century Dutch explorer, soldier and polymath of Scottish descent who made a series of expeditions in the Cape of Good Hope colony (now part of South Africa).
He recorded his travels in letters, diaries, maps and drawings, which have now been gathered in digital form by Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum on a website that accompanies its current exhibition, Good Hope: South Africa and the Netherlands from 1600 (until 21 May).
Together, the documents and images convey Gordon’s keen interest in the world around
him and create a vivid impression of his expeditions. The 450 drawings, mostly colour, are the most accessible content. Gordon made many careful observations of flora and fauna, but the works also include depictions of local people, action scenes such as a giraffe hunt, and metres-wide landscape panoramas.
But it’s also worth delving into his writings, many of which are translated into English. Clicking on a random map marker took me to a travel journal entry describing how a giraffe carcass was cut up and salted after the animal was shot. “The flesh tastes strongly of the thorn bushes that it eats,” Gordon reports.
The site showcases the strengths of an online document portal. It integrates resources from several other institutions alongside the Rijksmuseum, and the material is well organised.
The site is most easily explored via the Map tab in the top right- hand corner of the landing page, which takes you to an image of a map with navigational markers on it.
Clicking on these, the user can find documents and drawings relating to places Gordon visited and recorded. The ability to flip between Gordon’s maps and a Google map as a background is interesting and illuminating too.
The site’s main purpose is to gather primary material, which it does to good effect. It would
be even better with more interpretative and explanatory content, particularly on Gordon’s role within the colonial system, and the circumstances that led to his suicide in 1795.
Website
William Henry Fox Talbot Catalogue Raisonné
William Henry Fox Talbot was a 19th-century British scientist, inventor and photography pioneer who created images on salted paper and used negatives to develop multiple images.
The aim of this website, launched by Oxford University’s Bodleian Library, is to bring together all of Talbot’s known work. It currently features more than 1,000 images, but the Bodleian says that this will grow to incorporate his entire body of work (25,000 images, held in over 100 collections) by 2018.
Talbot’s artistic eye is highlighted by The Open Door (see top) – a famous photo of a broom by a door with arresting use of composition and light. The faded appearance of some of his shots of Paris and Oxford gives them a haunting quality.
The site is interesting to explore, but I would have welcomed more introductory material about Talbot’s work. Hopefully this will be addressed in the “Explore Talbot’s Themes” section of the website, which is under construction. JK
App
War Childhood Museum
The War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo holds personal belongings, audio and video testimonials, photographs and documents relating to people’s experiences growing up in Bosnia during the conflict of the 1990s. The museum opened in January, following the publication of a book in 2013 that gathered memories from more than 1,000 people.
Those unable to visit Sarajevo can experience what the museum offers through its app, which includes pictures of the museum’s objects, and audio recordings made by the people who donated them. There is a short free introductory “tour”, but it costs £2.99 to get access to the rest of the content.
The objects include toys, a birthday card, and a food tin from a humanitarian aid programme. Some stories are tragic, and made more moving when spoken by the people who lived them. Others demonstrate resilience and ingenuity. The recurrent theme is the contrast between the horror of war and the people’s determination to carry on with ordinary life as far as possible.
This app provides a valuable insight into the experience of conflict, in a way that news bulletins cannot. It is worth the small price, but I fear the cost may still deter some people who would otherwise find the app engaging. JK
Jonathan Knott is a freelance writer