by Brock Hanks 15 years ago
278
More like this
1773-1775
Including Wedgwood
Once Wright returned from the Grand Tour, he began painting local society from the Industrial Revolution
Joseph Wright trained formally with Thomas Hudson at the age of 17 in London.
<http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/0706/byko-0706.html>
"The painting, as described by the National Gallery in London, depicts a traveling scientist who demonstrates the formation of a vacuum, a lesson provided at the expense of a cockatoo. The bird lays in a glass globe at the top of the painting as the scientist withdraws air from the globe using an air pump. And if the sight of a bird on the brink of death is not enough to generate a response from onlookers, a bowl containing a skull glows in the candlelight that illuminates the scene.
The demonstration, conducted before a group of men, women, and children, inspires a gamut of reactions from fear to disinterest, as shown in the eyes of the onlookers".
"Shedding a Light on 18th Century Science:
The Works of Joseph Wright of Derby". Web 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/0706/byko-0706.html>
The dramatic lighting used in this piece was derived from Caravaggio
