Talking about a painting

1) The painting is from 1768, it is by Joseph   Wright of Derby, the title is The experiment with an air pump.

2) The style of  the painting is realist and figurative. The technique used is oil on canvas.

3) In this painting we can see a family with a scientist in a very dark room. The scientist is doing an experiment with a bird in a glass bowl. The bird is dead because the scientist has pumped the air. A couple of young people are looking at each other, they are not interested by the experiment. A young woman is crying because the bird is dead. A little girl is afraid but the little boy is very interested. On the right, a boy is opening the window. Through the window in the top right corner, we can see a full moon and clouds. In the bottom right corner, an old man is thinking. Another man is comforting the sad girl. The clothes are typical of the 18th century. The scientist is wearing a big red cloak.

4) The background of the painting is very dark, the only source of light is in the foreground, behind a glass bowl. The people are lit by this.

5) In this painting, the light symbolizes scientific knowledge which lights up the darkness of human ignorance.

6) The emotions in this painting are sadness and seriousness, sadness for the dead bird, and seriousness for the scientific experiment.

7) Giving my opinion

I think this painting is very realist because it is like a photo.

According to me, this painting is usefull because it shows a historical period.

I like this painting because there are a lot of emotions.

I don't like this painting because it is cruel and the bird is killed.