英國畫家Joseph Wright of Derby 畫中的工業革命

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/


[讀書心得] 讀到《英國工業革命》想到幾個問題：

為什麽工業革命發生在英國而不是在法國？
工業革命是人類生活必須的嗎？
中國現在在重複英國的當年工業革命？

法國人那麽有創意， 獨立思考， 數理人才濟濟，可能還是於大環境和曆史宗教背景有關， 自從亨利八世脫離羅馬天主教，英國決議走自己的路，與歐洲大陸反著走，另立東山 百年大戰失利，海上擴張， 砍了查理一世的頭， 建立議會的威望，盡管後來請回查理二世回來當國王，議會的權力之上， 這個民族，不管怎麽血拚，保持皇室的血統延續是貴族們的共識，不管這人說德語還是荷蘭語，都可以來英國當國王， 隻要是最近的血統， 很奇怪這些當國王的也沒有因為其父（CharlesII的父王）被害，其母被殺（JamesI的母親）而去報仇， 國會的遊戲規則已定，都得遵守， 包括國王。英倫三島的政局安定和寬容保證了工業革命的可能和繼續， 相反法國中央集權， 路易14 集權，政局不穩，法國大革命風起雲湧，路易16被砍頭， 法國大革命代替工業革命。工業革命也是英國海上擴張，商業運作的需要。就是到今天法國大革命的陰影依然刻在這塊土地上。

工業革命是人類生活必須的嗎？ 工業革命帶來一定物質的廣泛分配。 William Morris, 英國19世紀藝術和手工流派的倡導者， 最反對工業革命的藝術家，最後他又理解工業革命， 因為工業革命讓低階層的人也能分得一點湯， 否則精美的craft隻能是少數人的玩物，  一位主張社會合理分配的藝術家和富商。 當年其父母帶他去看維多利亞時代第一屆世博會， 他還是孩子他拒絕進當年世博會的人造玻璃房（Crystal Palace), 因為不喜歡這樣工業化的臨時建築， 多少人包括維多利亞女皇都在讚美這巨大的Green House， 他就要說《不》！

中國現在在重複英國的當年工業革命？也是也不是， 政治曆史地理環境不一樣， 不過英國及時抽身，沒有讓Made in Uk繼續下去，多少還是保護了他們的自然環境。