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Description: | In the 1760's Erasmus Darwin became a member of a group of scientists, inventors and engineers formed in the midlands. Among them were Matthew Boulton, a Birmingham manufacturer; James Watt, the inventor who improved the steam engine; Joseph Priestley who discovered oxygen; and Josiah Wedgwood, the china manufacturer.They called themselves the 'Lunar Society' becuase the meetings were usually held on the day nearest to the full moon so that the members would have light when riding home.Joseph Wright of Derby caught the atmosphere of these meetings in his masterpieces. he had known Erasmus Darwin for many years and painted him twice.This portrait is the second one. It was painted in Derby where Darwin spent the second half of his life. Darwin has been painted holding a pen as a celebration of his literary achievements.
Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) was one of the key figures of Enlightenment thought and an inventor, scientist and poet. A physician by profession, his career took off in Lichfield, where he ministered to many wealthy patients across the Midlands as well as treating the poor. He was a member of the Lunar Society and a friend of Matthew Boulton, Josiah Wedgwood, James Watt and other important figures in the Midlands including Anna Seward and Brooke Boothby. Joseph Wright (1734-1797) of Derby had known Darwin for many years and painted him twice. This portrait is the second one. It was painted in Derby where Darwin spent his life after 1781. Wright celebrates Darwins literary importance. He had composed a poem The Botanic Garden (1792) which celebrated in verse the achievements of industry and presented scientific ideas, discoveries and inventions alongside comments on social issues such as slavery. The original painting is mentioned in J. Wright's Account Book as "A 3qrs. of Dr Darwin with a hand". It was commissioned by his stepson Sacheverell Pole, the son of Darwins second wife Elizabeth Pole by her previous marriage. The painting at Wolverhampton is a copy by Wright of the original. Wright was the most significant painter of the Midlands Enlightenment. He not only painted portraits of leading figures in the region such as Richard Arkwright, Brooke Boothby and Jedediah Strutt, but landscapes and scientific and industrial subjects as well. These include A Philosopher giving a Lecture on the Orrery 1766 (Derby Museum and Art Gallery), An Experiment with a Bird in the Air Pump 1768 (National Gallery) and An Iron Forge viewed from without, 1772 (Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg), which was purchased by Catherine the Great of Russia.
Erasmus Darwin was born in Nottinghamshire, England, and educated at the universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. His medical practice in Lichfield was so successful that King George III invited him to be his personal physician, a post that Darwin politely refused. Darwin's interests extended well beyond the practice of medicine. He was dissatisfied with Linnaeus's theory of the immutability of species and instead proposed the gradual evolution of animals and plants. He published his ideas in Zoonomia; or the Laws of Organic Life in 1794. This work has been called "the first consistent all-embracing hypothesis of evolution." The publications of his French contemporaries, Cuvier and Lamarck, strengthened Darwin's position and provided the foundation for later studies in the field, most notably for that of Charles Darwin, grandson of Erasmus. Erasmus was one of the founders of the Lunar Society, which was a group of innovators and inventors that included James Watt, Matthew Boulton and Josiah Wedgewood.
Hear, oh, BRITANNIA! Potent Queen of isles, On whom fair art and meek Religion smiles, How AFRIC'S coasts thy craftier sons invade With murder, rapine, theft, - and call it Trade! - The SLAVE, in chains, on supplicating knee, Spreads his wide arms, and lifts his eyes to Thee; With hunger pale, with wounds and toil oppress'd, "ARE WE NOT BRETHREN?" sorrow choaks the rest;- - AIR! Bear to heaven upon thy azure flood Their innocent cries! - EARTH! - cover not their blood. Erasmus Darwin, a physician, scholat, scientist, researcher, inventor, and poet, composed the above irate lines. Along with his friends Thomas Day, Matthew Boulton and Josiah Wedgewood, he belonged to the Abolition Movement. The artist Joseph Wright of Derby painted Darwin twice. This portrait the second. It celebrates the publication of Darwin's poem The Botanic Garden (1792) in which he also attacked slavery: Fierce Slavery stalks, and slips the dogs of hell; From vale to vale the gathering cries rebound, And sable nations tremble at the sound! Ye bands of Senators! Whose suffrage sways Britannia realms, whom either lnd obeys; Who right the injured and reward the brave, Stretch your strong arm, for ye have power to save! "May slavery and Oppression Cease Throughout the World." Joseph wright was trained as a portrait painter. Unlike many artists of his time, he mostly stayed and worked in his native city of Derby and did not migrate to London. The label 'Wright of Derby' was given to him to distinguish him from the Liverpool artist Richard Wright. He was closely connected with famous scientists and philosophers of his time and tried to depict their experiments and achievements. Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) - was a famous educator, scientist, inventor and poet. His radical freethinking opinions were widely known. A physician by profession, he spent most of his energies trying to relieve human suffering. He started his medical career in Lichfield, but her travelled much to the Midlands, visiting patients. He always helped the poor, and his friend Sir Brooke Boothby wrote: "Darwin, thine whose ever-open door Draws, like Bethesda's pool the suffering poor; Where some fit cure the wretched all obtain Relieved at once from poverty and pain." In the 1760s, Erasmus Darwin became a member of the group of scientists, inventors, and engineers formed in the Midlands. Among them were Matthew Boulton, a Birmingham manufacturer; James Watt, the inventor who improved the steam engine; Joseph Priestly who discovered oxygen; Josiah Wedgewood, the porcelain manufacturer. They called themselves 'The Lunar Society' because the meetings were usually held on the day nearest the full Moon, so that the members could have light when riding home. Joseph Wright of Derby caught the atmosphere of these meetings in his masterpieces. He has known Erasmus Darwin for many years and painted him twice. This portrait is the second one. It was painted in Derby, where Darwin spend the second half of his life. J. Wright celebrates his literacy achievements, especially his great work 'The Botanic Garden' which encompassed a multiplicity of scientific and technological ideas, discoveries and inventions, including description of a planetary system and the working of an air pump. Erasmus was the grandfather of Charles Darwin who wrote 'Origin of Species.
Oil painting portrait of Erasmus Darwin. He is seated, looking to the left, holding a quill. He wears a brown jacket and white shirt. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/ | Publisher: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Rights holder: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Subjects: | Portrait painting Fine arts Men Oil painting Oil Paintings Georgian period People and roles Doctors Paintings Portraits Physicians Medicine (occupation) People Art collections Erasmus Darwin | Temporal: | 1750 - 1797
Georgian (1714-1837) | Source: | Black Country History | Creator: | WRIGHT; Joseph (1734 - 1797); of Derby | Identifier: | http://www.blackcountryhistory.org/colle... | Go to resource |
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