Enlightenment Paintings

Enlightenment paintings mark a departure from the style of Rococo that focused on the decadent lives of aristocrats. Enlightenment art would deviate from such frivolous subject matter and aesthetics, as evident in three examples: A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at the Orrey (1765) by Joseph Wright of Derby, The Marriage Scene (1743) by William Hogarth, and Portrait of Paul Revere (1768) by John Singleton Copely.

Joseph Wright of Derby's A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at the Orrey presents a scene of a group of students engrossed in an astronomy lesson. The subject of this painting connects directly to the Age of Enlightenment's emphasis on science and observing the world to understand it. The contrast of light and dark (a technique known as tenebrism) not only creates drama but visually articulates the students becoming enlightened by the lesson. Their glowing faces represent the dark mysteries of the solar system becoming illuminated to them.