I will present an overview of the evolution of concepts about large-scale structure of the Universe in western societies since the 16th century until today. The goal is to analyze the relevance of Slipher's discoveries from a general historical perspective, locating the significance of the introduction of redshift in astronomy and western worldview within a comprehensive integrative approach. To do that, I will pay attention to the impact in historical cosmic models of concepts such as space, structure and time, from which other key ideas were derived, namely cosmological evolution, shape, or expansion, among others. The actual shift involved in the discovery of redshifts in galaxies will be especially emphasized as one of the main change of paradigms in this context. Since I am specialized in the visual history of astronomy, the arguments will be woven through some of the most relevant images that visualized each theory (many of which are not sufficiently known by contemporary astronomers), while recurrent misunderstandings and misinterpretations echoed in the traditional historiography will be clarified.