A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery

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A Philosopher giving that Lecture on the Orrery

Artist	Joseph Wright of Derby
Year	ca. 1766
Type	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	147 cm × 203 cm (58 in × 80 in)
Location	Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derby, England

A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery, or the full title, A Philosopher giving a Lecture on the Orrery in which a lamp is put in place of the Sun, is a painting by Joseph Wright of Derby depicting a lecturer who carries a possibly intentional similarity to Sir Isaac Newton giving a demonstration of an orrery to a small audience.^[1]

Some observers^{[weasel words]} have also noticed the similarity between the lecturer and John Whitehurst, although there is no evidence to back-up this claim.

Wright specialized in painting dramatic candlelit and moonlit scenes. He loved subjects such as the orrery demonstration, which could be illuminated by a single light from within the picture. In the painting, a scholar demonstrates a mechanical model of the solar system called the orrery, in which each planet (represented by a metal orb) revolves around the sun (a lamp) at the correct relative velocity. Light from the lamp pours forth from in front of the boy silhouetted in the foreground to create dramatic light and shadows that heighten the scene. Awed children crowd close to the tiny orbs that represent the planets within the arcing bands that symbolize their orbits. An earnest listener makes notes, while the lone woman seated at the left and the two gentlemen at the right look on with rapt attention. The wonders of scientific knowledge mesmerize everybody in Wright's painting. The artist visually reinforced the fascination with the orrery by composing his image in circular fashion, echoing the device's orbital design. The postures and gazes of all the participants and observers focus attention on the cosmic model. Wright scrupulously rendered with careful accuracy every detail of the figures, the mechanisms of the orrery, and even the books and curtain in the shadowy background.

Wright's realism appealed to the great industrialists of his day. Scientific-industrial innovators, such as Josiah Wedgwood, who pioneered many techniques of mass-produced pottery, and Sir Richard Arkwright^[2], whose spinning frame revolutionized the textile industry, often purchased works such as Orrery. To them, Wright's elevation of the theories and inventions of the Industrial Revolution to the plane of history painting was exciting and appropriately in tune with the future.

[edit] See also

• An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
• Gardner's Art Through the Ages

[edit] References

1. ^ "A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery (1764-1766)". Revolutionary Players. http://www.search.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/engine/resource/exhibition/standard/child.asp?txtKeywords=&lstContext=&lstResourceType=&lstExhibitionType=&chkPurchaseVisible=&txtDateFrom=&txtDateTo=&x1=&y1=&x2=&y2=&scale=&theme=&album=&resource=5230&viewpage=%2Fengine%2Fresource%2Fexhibition%2Fstandard%2Fdefault%2Easp&originator=&page=&records=&direction=&pointer=&text=&exhibition=1652&offset=0. Retrieved on 2007-07-24. 
2. ^ "Joseph Wright". Kleiner, Fred and Mamiya, Christin. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. Wadsworth Publishing; 12th edition 2004. ISBN 0-15-505090-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=aSV_y8aSbycC&pg=PA638&lpg=PA638&dq=Wright+specialized+in+painting+dramatic+candlelit+and+moonlit+scenes.+He+loved+subjects+such+as+the+orrery+demonstration,+which+could+be+illuminated+by+a+single+light+from+within+the+picture.&source=bl&ots=-uhz2_omHh&sig=WKuJ4pktcWpt6FH2f0ERztRU66M&hl=en&ei=RMYLSribCZ3utQOhxoTqAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1. Retrieved on 2009-05-14.