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Hill-Stone, Inc.
after Joseph Wright of Derby
The Air Pump
Mezzotint
English
1768/69
after Wright of Derby, The Air Pump. Mezzotint
479 x 586 mm 18 7/8 x 23 1/16 inches
description
after JOSEPH WRIGHT OF DERBY, R.A. Derby 1734 - 1797
The Air Pump.
Mezzotint, after Wright of Derby by Valentine Green (1739-1813); 1768/69. Chaloner-Smith 163: first state of two. Judy Egerton, Wright of Derby, Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition catalogue 1990, cat. no. 153, the first of four states, with the short scratch-letter inscription, but before the complete scratch-letter inscription in the second state, and the subsequent states with the closed letter text, and the reduction of the plate and beveling of the edges of the plate.
A brilliant impression; the finest we have ever seen in trade. With margins all around; a small expertly closed tear at the upper right edge just entering the image, and a tiny, almost invisible scuff over the two lovers, center left, otherwise in exceptional condition.
The full title of this mezzotint in the second state, A Philosopher Shewing an Experiment on the Air Pump records Wright of Derby’s famous painting of 1769, now at The National Gallery, London. Arguably one of Wright’s masterpieces, and, as well, one of Green’s most admired mezzotints, the range of tones at the service of this complex image of artificial and natural light has been noted as one of the most remarkable printed images of the 18th century.
The subject, one of several prints concerned with science and the observa-tion of natural phenomena, has been much studied as to the import of the event itself. Two interpretations should be discussed here, which center around the reaction of the two young girls at the lower right and the philosopher, holding the drain of the glass sphere at the top of the image in which a bird lies, apparently at the point of suffocation. A traditional interpretation suggests that the philosopher is about to lift the stopper of glass vessel, even as the terrified girls respond to the imminent death of the bird.
Another more recent interpretation[1] suggests that the human skull in a glass jar and the reflection of a candle, memento mori symbols, indicate that the bird is to be left to die, thus explaining the anguish of the young girls. We may suggest that the position of philosopher’s hand strongly suggests that he is indeed about to lift the stopper, and allow the bird to revive.
479 x 586 mm 18 7/8 x 23 1/16 inches
[1] See Egerton, cat.no. 21, p 60.
The Air Pump.
Mezzotint, after Wright of Derby by Valentine Green (1739-1813); 1768/69. Chaloner-Smith 163: first state of two. Judy Egerton, Wright of Derby, Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition catalogue 1990, cat. no. 153, the first of four states, with the short scratch-letter inscription, but before the complete scratch-letter inscription in the second state, and the subsequent states with the closed letter text, and the reduction of the plate and beveling of the edges of the plate.
A brilliant impression; the finest we have ever seen in trade. With margins all around; a small expertly closed tear at the upper right edge just entering the image, and a tiny, almost invisible scuff over the two lovers, center left, otherwise in exceptional condition.
The full title of this mezzotint in the second state, A Philosopher Shewing an Experiment on the Air Pump records Wright of Derby’s famous painting of 1769, now at The National Gallery, London. Arguably one of Wright’s masterpieces, and, as well, one of Green’s most admired mezzotints, the range of tones at the service of this complex image of artificial and natural light has been noted as one of the most remarkable printed images of the 18th century.
The subject, one of several prints concerned with science and the observa-tion of natural phenomena, has been much studied as to the import of the event itself. Two interpretations should be discussed here, which center around the reaction of the two young girls at the lower right and the philosopher, holding the drain of the glass sphere at the top of the image in which a bird lies, apparently at the point of suffocation. A traditional interpretation suggests that the philosopher is about to lift the stopper of glass vessel, even as the terrified girls respond to the imminent death of the bird.
Another more recent interpretation[1] suggests that the human skull in a glass jar and the reflection of a candle, memento mori symbols, indicate that the bird is to be left to die, thus explaining the anguish of the young girls. We may suggest that the position of philosopher’s hand strongly suggests that he is indeed about to lift the stopper, and allow the bird to revive.
479 x 586 mm 18 7/8 x 23 1/16 inches
[1] See Egerton, cat.no. 21, p 60.
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