Art, Science and Enlightenment Ideology : Joseph Wright and the Derby Philosophical Society
Graciano, Andrew Sean, Department of Art, University of Virginia
Johns, Christopher M. S., Department of Art, University of Virginia
McInnis, Maurie D., Department of Art, University of Virginia
Parshall, Karen, Department of Mathematics, University of Virginia
Goedde, Lawrence O., Department of Art, University of Virginia
Several of Joseph Wright's paintings, executed after his Grand Tour of Italy (1773-75), are examined in light of the artist's intellectual interests in natural and moral philosophy that he shared with his friends in the Lunar Society of Birmingham and the Derby Philosophical Society. Among the philosophical subjects treated in the discussion of the painter's works are geology, mining, manufacture, botany, and sensibility. Each of these pursuits had a nationalistic purpose in accordance with the discourse of British Physiocratic economics. I demonstrate how Wright's landscapes, portraits and history paintings from this period evidence his intellect, socioeconomic status, and cultural role in the British Enlightenment.
Note: Abstract extracted from PDF file via OCR.
PHD (Doctor of Philosophy)
Digitization of this thesis was made possible by a generous grant from the Jefferson Trust, 2015.
Thesis originally deposited on 2016-02-18 in version 1.28 of Libra. This thesis was migrated to Libra2 on 2017-03-23 16:33:18.
English
All rights reserved (no additional license for public reuse)
2002/01/01
