In A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery, how is the Provenance, and portraits discussed?
The Orrery was painted without a commission, probably in the expectation that it would be bought by Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers, a British Royal Navy officer who had an orrery of his own, and with whom Wright's friend Peter Perez Burdett was staying while in Derbyshire. Figures thought to be portraits of Burdett and Ferrers feature in the painting, Burdett taking notes and Ferrers seated with a youth next to the orrery.
Ferrers purchased the painting, which was exhibited in 1766, for £210, but the 6th Earl auctioned it off, and it is now in the Derby Museum and Art Gallery, where it is on permanent display, close to a working replica of a full-sized mechanical Grand Orrery.
A biographer of Wright, Benedict Nicolson, argued in 1968 that John Whitehurst was the model for the lecturer, while another commentator points out the figure's resemblance to "a painting of Isaac Newton by Godfrey Kneller". Close observation of the adult faces in the picture reveals that each one demonstrates one or other of the main phases of the Moon – new moon, half moon, gibbous moon and full moon. Jonathan Powers, in The Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery, claims that 'the Philosopher' was John Arden, a scholar and lecturer best known for teaching the young Mary Wollstonecraft.A working reconstruction of the grand orrery depicted in Joseph Wright's painting was commissioned by Derby Museums in 1993. It was built by clock and orrery-maker, John Gleave, and is displayed alongside the original work in the museum's art gallery.
the 6th Earl Grand Orrery Benedict Nicolson 5th Earl Ferrers phases of the Moon Earl Ferrers Godfrey Kneller Derby Museum and Art Gallery Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers Peter Perez Burdett Isaac Newton John Whitehurst Derby Washington Shirley Orrery orrery Mary Wollstonecraft Derbyshire