ABSTRACT
In intellectual and academic terms, the eighteenth century was the era of explaining all human and natural phenomena in treatises. Art treatises are part of that culture, reflecting the breadth of the contemporary urge to taxonomy. While the Encyclopédie (1751–72) is perhaps the most famous of the attempts by eighteenth-century scholars and writers to classify and order a response to the world, others include Johnson‧s Dictionary (1755) and Linnaeus‧s System of Nature (1735–58). The common feature of the two art treatises that will be examined here—one concerning drawing, the other music performance practice—is the blend within them of the aesthetic with the moral, presented in a utilitarian manner that is educative and practical.
