Bartolomé Sureda: Mechanic, Inventor and Artist. A Character of Enlightened Knowledge

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to present the figure of Bartolomé Sureda y Miserol (1769–1851), a mechanic, inventor and illustrated artist, in relation to his contribution to scientific progress. The next goal is to demonstrate the extent to which graphic representation techniques were decisive during the aforementioned process, techniques that the enlightened scientists of Spain, the so-called “experimental natural philosophers” among whom was Sureda, used masterfully to develop their plans and drawings of machines. The scientists of Las Luces constituted a circle of technology professionals whose training came from various fields: artistic, analytical and technical. In the absence of specific educational centres, academies were created during the 18th century that were conceived to promote knowledge and were born from private gatherings. Bartolomé Sureda was trained in these centres and took an interest in both technique and art, and although he applied great geometric rigour in the representation of machines, his artistic will was never absent.