engraving by Joseph Wright: Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the Orrery
Date: 1768
Inventory Number: 2003-1-0052
Classification: Print
Subject:
Maker: Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797)
Maker: William Pether (circa 1738-1821)
Maker: John Boydell (1720 - 1804)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
60 x 75 x 2.5 cm (23 5/8 x 29 1/2 x 1 in.)
Accessories: in frame
DescriptionIn this engraving, based on the famous painting 'A Philosopher Giving That Lecture on the Orrery in Which A Lamp is Put in Place of the Sun,' the English artist John Wright of Derby (1734-1797) depicts a small group consisting of a lecturer in academic garb and several well-dressed, upper-middle class men and one woman from the landed gentry in a darkly-lit private study, indicated by a bookshelf loosely covered with drapery on the right. They are all gathered around an orrery, an entertaining scientific and technological marvel in the Enlightenment.
An orrery is a mechanical device illustrating the relative positions and motions of the planets in the heliocentric planetary system, usually driven by clockwork mechanisms to rotate the planets. In this particular case, the sun has been replaced by an oil lamp as indicated by the full title, and also serves as the primary source of aesthetic and intellectual illumination in the scene. In particular, two boys are prominently and brightly illuminated as they gaze in fascination at the lecturer's machine and its curved metal spokes. The boys are bathed in light reminiscent of the tenebristic lighting techniques of Caravaggio and Georges de la Tour that highly contrasts the black background with this single source of light. The light from the sun illuminates the faces and minds of the participants, and in many ways this scene represents the search for and dissemination of knowledge.
According to author R. Hagen, lectures of this sort that combined scientific entertainment and intellectual edification were common in the 18th century - during the time of the Enlightenment - in English towns like the artist's hometown of Derby. The meetings were organized by the Lunar Society and were held each month on a Monday close to the full moon. They were supported by scientists and inventors in order to fill the ongoing demand for education.
The picture is mounted in a black frame with scalloped gold decorative details around the edges.
An orrery is a mechanical device illustrating the relative positions and motions of the planets in the heliocentric planetary system, usually driven by clockwork mechanisms to rotate the planets. In this particular case, the sun has been replaced by an oil lamp as indicated by the full title, and also serves as the primary source of aesthetic and intellectual illumination in the scene. In particular, two boys are prominently and brightly illuminated as they gaze in fascination at the lecturer's machine and its curved metal spokes. The boys are bathed in light reminiscent of the tenebristic lighting techniques of Caravaggio and Georges de la Tour that highly contrasts the black background with this single source of light. The light from the sun illuminates the faces and minds of the participants, and in many ways this scene represents the search for and dissemination of knowledge.
According to author R. Hagen, lectures of this sort that combined scientific entertainment and intellectual edification were common in the 18th century - during the time of the Enlightenment - in English towns like the artist's hometown of Derby. The meetings were organized by the Lunar Society and were held each month on a Monday close to the full moon. They were supported by scientists and inventors in order to fill the ongoing demand for education.
The picture is mounted in a black frame with scalloped gold decorative details around the edges.
Signedat the bottom of the print: Josh Wright Pinx't, J Boydell, Exc't, W, Pether fecit 1768 1768
Inscribedon the reverse: Print of English Orrery, Gift of Mr. P. L. Spaulding, 15 State St., Boston, Dec. 1, 1937
label from frameshop: RICHARD NICHOLS PICTURES AND FRAMING, 22 BROMFIELD ST. UP ONE FLIGHT, BOSTON
label from frameshop: RICHARD NICHOLS PICTURES AND FRAMING, 22 BROMFIELD ST. UP ONE FLIGHT, BOSTON
ProvenanceFrom the Astronomy Department, Harvard, 1969.