Classicism

 Introduction 

With the American Revolution and later the French revolution, wheels started to turn and more people now had access to education and new ideas, which stated that people should not be followed only because they are in power (As it was with Monarchs and Church leaders), but because they would contribute to the commonwealth. Some people during the Classicism era, which lasted during the 18th century and was synonymous with the Enlightenment era, started to believe that religion was just superstition. This made scientific discoveries more interesting for the common man and a good quote that describes this period would be the one by Rene Descartes "I think, therefore I am".
Lets take a look at some works relative to science and art in the 18th century.

Astronomy work

 A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery - Joseph Wright

 

A good work of art that depicts the focus of the Classical art era and the 18th century is  A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery by Joseph Wright of Derby, this work shows that people showed more and more interest about how physics and the Universe works, in this work you can see the Philosopher standing behind an Orrery and people trying to understand it. The work is located in The Derby Mueum and Art gallery and was created in 1776. The orrery was first created by Charles Boyle, the 4th Earl of Orrery, England, during 1713. The work has an educational but also and eerie feel, since not many people really understood other things besides God. The work involves a lot of dark color and shading, which contributes to the eerie feel, the work is not awfully complicated, but it has a lot of color shifts with the light coming from the candle in the middle of the orrery representing the sun and it being in a dark room, which the books in the background indicates could be a library. The illusion of Depth is created by adjusting the size of people in front of the orrery versus the back. I would actually like to own this work, because I think scientific depictions have some stories and they can teach people what is happening in the painting.

Optometrist work

An optician and his attendant - Johan Zoffany

This piece of art depicts two men - Opticians, in their workshop, this is a work made by Johan Zoffany, an German artist who worked in England and the work was created in 1772. What is notable that Johan Zoffany was one of the first members of the Royal Academy of Arts and the work created her was actually commisioned by King George III of England, because the people painted in the piece are then well known instrument makers - Dollands and Cuff, which the King bought his microscopes from. This is why I chose this painting and how it works with the topic of Science and art during Classicism. 

The art work itself is light and mostly lighter and darker versions of the color brown are used, there is apparent spacing, with the one man being behind the other - this is achieved by size differences, overlap and shading. The work is pretty detailed with all of the workshop tools painted with sharp lines, therefore they are clearly visible. This being a light work draws out the kindness and trust emotion in me. I think it is mostly because the person sitting in the chair is smiling and most of the work is light and no sharp contrasts are visible, this makes me calm. I cannot say that it inspires awe and therefore I do not know if I would kill to get this piece of art in my collection.

Sailor and explorer 

Portrait of Captain James Cook - John Webber

This portrait is of Captain James Cook, who was a British Royal Navy Captain, he is most famous for his voyages on 1768 and 1779, during which he traveled to Hawaii and Australia, which were the main targets of his explorations. He died in Hawaii, due to a stab wound from a Hawaiian native person. 

This portrait painted by John Webber is one of just three portraits made by Webber and this particular one is believed to be painted while Webber was on Cook's last voyage and was given to his wife Elizabeth as a present, which later was passed down the blood line. It is considered a posthumous work and was held in the family and passed down, eventually sold in the mid-19th century and later acquired by the New Zealand Government.
The work shows Captain Cook standing on the seashore by a rock in his Naval uniform with a telescope in his had. The uniform is white, therefore a lot of white tones are used, while darker shading is achieved with gray color. The work as a portrait has defining lines and mainly focuses on Captain Cook, rather than the background. Also the telescope is in a different color, therefore it stands out and we can see that telescopes and science was used in the sea voyages, to navigate the way through the sea's.
I cannot say that I would really appreciate this work in my house, since I have noticed that people in authority are mostly rude and love to assert their dominance. Also this is not a person who I would admire. 

Sources used: 

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, August 1). A philosopher lecturing on the orrery. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Philosopher_Lecturing_on_the_Orrery.

Johan Joseph Zoffany (Frankfurt 1733-London 1810) - John Cuff. Royal Collection Trust. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://www.rct.uk/collection/404434/john-cuff. 

Collections online - museum of new zealand te papa tongarewa. Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/41431.