A Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the Orrery

William Pether after Joseph Wright

National Gallery of Art

This print shows a group of people around a large orrery: an intricate mechanical model of the solar system with curving strips of metal creating a dome. Eight people are depicted around the orrery on a table, including four men, three children, and one woman. One man stands in the center, directly behind the orrery, one hand in his pocket. He has white hair and wrinkled skin, and he is looking to the left, towards a man with dark hair who is writing in a notebook. Two children stand between these men, leaning on the orrery and looking into the center, their faces peeking through the metallic rings. On the bottom left, a woman sits looking at the orrery, wearing a long hat and a dark cloak over a dress, with strings of pearls around her neck. On the right, two other men stand by the orrery, partially in shadow. One man looks at the model while the other looks up, towards the standing man in the center. In front of the orrery, the third child is leaning against the model with their back to us, silhouetted against the light that seems to emanate from the orrery. The scene is set in a dimly lit room with a bookcase in the background and draped cloth hanging near the top right corner.