Joseph Wright of Derby, "A Philosopher giving that Lecture on the Orrery, in which a lamp is put in place of the Sun" (1766)

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Joseph Wright was one of the most important English painters of the eighteenth century. He linked elements of romanticism with powerful images of science and technology. His depictions of artificial light on the faces of experimenters and their audiences captured the sense of wonder attendant on discoveries in natural science.  He painted many famous painting, the most famous one depicting a bird in an airpump.

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