Art and Scientific Discovery in the 1700s
During the Enlightenment, artists of the 18th century were heavily influenced by scientific discoveries. The Classical era contributed to free-thinking, rationalism, and progress through learning. The three paintings I chose for my classical art exhibition show a strong and clear influence of scientific discovery in the 1700s.
“An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump”, is a 1768 painting by Joseph Wright of Derby, England. This piece depicts a scientist recreating one of Robert Boyle’s air pump experiments which involved depriving a bird of air in front of an audience. The air pump, known today as a vacuum pump, was first constructed by Boyle in 1658. Boyle used the air pump to conduct a variety of experiments focusing on the property of air. Many of his experiments included depriving air of animals to show the necessity of air for survival.
Joseph Wright was very well known for his paintings of the industrial revolution and the scientific advances of the enlightenment. The details of this painting are so vivid from the play of light with the stark black background and light skin tones of the subjects. Not only is there an illusion of a candlelit room, but the expressions on the faces in the painting pull emotions of shock and discomfort for witnessing the struggle of the bird to breathe. The scientist conducting the experiment looks as though he is peering out of the painting waiting for the viewers' reaction. The frightened look on the little girl as she watches the bird struggle for air is what connected me to this painting because I would have the same reaction if witnessing such experiments as well.
My last piece that represents art and scientific discovery are: “Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky”, an 1816 piece by American painter Benjamin West. Originally from Pennsylvania, Benjamin West caught the eye of King George III and was appointed as the historical painter for the court in 1772.
“Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky” is a quirky representation of actual science during the classical era with mythological representation. The painting symbolizes Ben Franklin’s 1752 experiment showing that lightning was a form of electricity. Ben Franklin is depicted as almost god-like with angelic figures surrounding him and assisting him with the experiment. It is a very dramatic piece that could be seen as resembling the Baroque era artistic style. I believe this piece is an excellent example of the influence that science had on art during this time.
Works Cited:
"Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity From The Sky". Philamuseum.Org, 2022, https://www.philamuseum.org/collection/object/57044
"Benjamin West - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_West
"Joseph Wright | English Painter". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Wright-English-painter
"Maria Sibylla Merian - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sibylla_Merian
The National Gallery, London. "Joseph Wright 'Of Derby' | An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump | NG725 | National Gallery, London". Nationalgallery.Org.Uk, 2022, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/joseph-wright-of-derby-an-experiment-on-a-bird-in-the-air-pump
I love the first painting you chose! I like how the artist was a scientist herself. This really shows the advancements in science because she not only illustrated scientific events, but her art contributed to further learning. I also appreciate the accuracy of the painting and find that it makes learning about the insect life cycle more enjoyable! Barrett Klein was also an artist and scientist that featured insects in his work.
ReplyDeleteWhat great examples of the "art and scientific discovery", all three pieces of art personify the enlightenment era of the 1700s. During this time there was a huge interest in intellectual pursuits such as the sciences like chemistry, physics, Astronomy, philosophy, and the dissemination of knowledge; they searched for answers to anything that they did not understand. My favorite painting from this post is of the flowers, they look so real, and the way the artist drew the depth of colors in the petals is absolutely stunning!
ReplyDeleteHi Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI also chose the topic of art and scientific discovery, so I was very interested to read about the pieces chose as well as the connections you made. The first two pieces you shared were very interesting and surprising, as I did not come across anything like them when I was looking for art to share. I think those pieces really emphasize how science and art were working in unison at the time and providing people a better understanding of the world. Classification of things such as creatures and plants was starting to begin, so I imagine beautiful and detailed images of these things such as the ones you shared were very influential during their time. I also like the other painting you selected. I recall coming across both of those when looking for paintings to demonstrate the relationship between art and science. Not only do the paintings do that, they both have immense detail and strategic placement of figures.
Hey Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI also chose to talk about the scientific discoveries and the arts. The painting of the bugs was very fascinating to look at. I have always been interested in bugs even though I’m pretty afraid of them. The different colors and shapes are very cool. Each one is different in many ways. I love the colors used for the flowers in the second painting. The mix of red fading to a soft pink is very beautiful. I felt very calm when looking at the two paintings. I also chose to pick a painting from Joseph Wright of Derby. Great lighting and shading really brings this painting together. The placement of each person and facial expressions also adds emotion to the painting. In the last painting you presented, I thought there was much depth to the photo. The people behind Benjamin are much smaller and I really like the colors used for the sky. I think it was very important for artist to capture scientific discovery in art.