A Philosopher Shewing an Experiment on the Air Pump
A Philosopher Shewing an Experiment on the Air Pump

Currently not on view

A Philosopher Shewing an Experiment on the Air Pump,

1769

Valentine Green, 1739–1813; born Salford, England; died London, England
after Joseph Wright of Derby, 1734–1797; born and died Derby, United Kingdom
2012-54
Wright of Derby relied on the talents of mezzotinters such as Valentine Green to promote his paintings soon after they were exhibited. This virtuoso print effectively transmits Wright’s mastery of natural and artificial light effects in one of his most celebrated “candlelight pictures,” now known as An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768; National Gallery, London). The nocturnal scene depicts a traveling lecturer demonstrating to a rapt audience the potentially lethal effects of creating a vacuum in an air pump containing a bird. Pulled before the painting’s original title was inscribed in the plate below the image, this rare trial proof bears the names of the painter, the publisher (John Boydell), and the printmaker.
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More About This Object

A Philosopher Shewing an Experiment on the Air Pump, Valentine Green, after Joseph Wright of Derby

Information

Title
A Philosopher Shewing an Experiment on the Air Pump
Dates

1769

Maker
Valentine Green
after Joseph Wright of Derby
Medium
Mezzotint
Dimensions
plate: 48.4 × 58.7 cm (19 1/16 × 23 1/8 in.) sheet: 44.8 × 58.7 cm (17 5/8 × 23 1/8 in.) frame: 70.5 × 80.5 × 2.3 cm (27 3/4 × 31 11/16 × 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund
Object Number
2012-54
Place Made

Europe, England, London

Inscription
Printed below plate, from left to right: Jos. Wright Pinxit, 1768. / J. Boydell, execudit. / Val. Green fecit, [illegible] 1769. In pen and brown ink on verso, lower left: No 21 In graphite on verso, lower left: 2.ps. / No. 33 44//1150
Reference Numbers
Chaloner Smith 163
Culture
British, European
Type
mezzotints, prints, proofs (derivative objects)
Techniques
mezzotint
Subject
philosophers, scientists, birds, girls, moons, men, figures (representations), deaths, women, children (people by age group)

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