-3- Joseph Wright of Derby

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A travelling scientist is shown demonstrating the effects of a vacuum by withdrawing air from a flask containing a white cockatoo, though common birds like sparrows would normally have been used. Air pumps were developed in the 17th century and were relatively familiar by Wright's day. The artist's subject is not scientific invention, but a human drama in a night-time setting.

The bird will die if the demonstrator continues to deprive it of oxygen, and Wright leaves us in doubt as to whether or not the cockatoo will be reprieved. The painting reveals a wide range of individual reactions, from the frightened children, through the reflective philosopher, the excited interest of the youth on the left, to the indifferent young lovers concerned only with each other.

The figures are dramatically lit by a single candle, while in the window the moon appears. On the table in front of the candle is a glass containing a skull.


---Task---
Use this image as inspiration for your own short article. It might be a science journal entry, cold and observant over the experiment; or a diary entry from one of the observers; or a third person narrative of the event. You don't need to compose plot and twists, just explore feelings, describe the atmosphere, and create tension and mood.