英国画家Joseph Wright of Derby 画中的工业革命

A Philosopher Giving that Lecture on the Orrery, in which a Lamp is put in the Place of the Sun

Joseph Wright 'of Derby' ： An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump1768

The Alchymist, in Search of the Philosopher’s Stone, discovers Phosphorus, and prays for the successful conclusion of his operation, as was the custom of the ancient chymical astrologers
Joseph Wright, oil on canvas, exhibited 1771, reworked and dated 1795.

A Blacksmith’s Shop Joseph Wright, oil on canvas, dated 1771, exhibited 1772.

The Widow of an Indian Chief watching the Arms of her Deceased Husband
Joseph Wright, oil on canvas, exhibited 1785.

Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution".^[1]

Wright is notable for his use of Chiaroscuro effect, which emphasises the contrast of light and dark, and for his paintings of candle-lit subjects. His paintings of the birth of science out of alchemy, often based on the meetings of the Lunar Society, a group of very influential scientists and industrialists living in the English Midlands, are a significant record of the struggle of science against religious values in the period known as the Age of Enlightenment.

Many of Wright's paintings and drawings are owned by Derby City Council, and are on display at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery, from where they are occasionally loaned to other galleries.

http://www.derbymuseums.org/joseph-wright-gallery/


[读书心得] 读到《英国工业革命》想到几个问题：

为什么工业革命发生在英国而不是在法国？
工业革命是人类生活必须的吗？
中国现在在重复英国的当年工业革命？

法国人那么有创意， 独立思考， 数理人才济济，可能还是于大环境和历史宗教背景有关， 自从亨利八世脱离罗马天主教，英国决议走自己的路，与欧洲大陆反着走，另立东山 百年大战失利，海上扩张， 砍了查理一世的头， 建立议会的威望，尽管后来请回查理二世回来当国王，议会的权力之上， 这个民族，不管怎么血拚，保持皇室的血统延续是贵族们的共识，不管这人说德语还是荷兰语，都可以来英国当国王， 只要是最近的血统， 很奇怪这些当国王的也没有因为其父（CharlesII的父王）被害，其母被杀（JamesI的母亲）而去报仇， 国会的游戏规则已定，都得遵守， 包括国王。英伦三岛的政局安定和宽容保证了工业革命的可能和继续， 相反法国中央集权， 路易14 集权，政局不稳，法国大革命风起云涌，路易16被砍头， 法国大革命代替工业革命。工业革命也是英国海上扩张，商业运作的需要。就是到今天法国大革命的阴影依然刻在这块土地上。

工业革命是人类生活必须的吗？ 工业革命带来一定物质的广泛分配。 William Morris, 英国19世纪艺术和手工流派的倡导者， 最反对工业革命的艺术家，最后他又理解工业革命， 因为工业革命让低阶层的人也能分得一点汤， 否则精美的craft只能是少数人的玩物，  一位主张社会合理分配的艺术家和富商。 当年其父母带他去看维多利亚时代第一届世博会， 他还是孩子他拒绝进当年世博会的人造玻璃房（Crystal Palace), 因为不喜欢这样工业化的临时建筑， 多少人包括维多利亚女皇都在赞美这巨大的Green House， 他就要说《不》！

中国现在在重复英国的当年工业革命？也是也不是， 政治历史地理环境不一样， 不过英国及时抽身，没有让Made in Uk继续下去，多少还是保护了他们的自然环境。