A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery

This magnificent work, painted by Joseph Wright of Derby in 1766, depicts a scientist teaching a small audience about the significance of an Orrery.  An Orrery is a small display of the arrangement of the planets in the solar system. (A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery) At first glance, this painting highlights the sense of amazement of two children at its focal point who stare ominously at the Orrery.  With the rest of the painting dark, it draws the viewer’s eyes to the center, which is what the artist was trying to accomplish.  Wright gave the Orrery a supernatural presence because the solar system had never been depicted in this form.  The other on-lookers have very intrigued looks on their faces and may feel baffled that someone could have so much confidence in their model of earth’s place in the cosmos.  

This painting was created during the scientific revolution while various theories about our solar system were being advanced.  Throughout the enlightenment and the scientific age of discovery, religious dogma began to be challenged.  The Orrery did exactly this.  It put the sun at the center of the solar system and the planets, including earth, around it.  This idea contradicted that of the Church, which was that we live in a geocentric universe.  Wright believed that the magnificence of the scientific revolution could attract just as much wonder as the traditional works of the religious enlightenment.  Joseph Wright was a revolutionary artist, and made it clear to Europeans that religion would no longer stand in the way of man’s awe of the natural world.  

The School of Athens

   

Painted by Raphael in 1510-1511, The School of Athens is the epitome of Renaissance artwork.  Immediately, by looking at the painting, one can tell that there is a frenzy of people doing different things.  However everyone in the painting is doing something involving education.  The group of people huddled around Plato and Aristotle are the main thinkers of the classical world.  On the bottom left of the painting are the mathematicians, huddled around Pythagoras, who is introducing his theory that ultimate reality is made up of numbers and harmonic ratios.  On the right side of the painting, another group is paying close attention to the work of Euclid or Archimedes as he demonstrates geometric compositions with a pair of compasses.  Heraclitus, who is sitting by himself on the right side of the painting is the only solitary figure in the painting.  He was a pre-Socratic philosopher whose theories were not understood by anyone.  One of the most notable points of this painting is the vanishing point created by the pillars in the background.  The vanishing point is centered on the hand of Aristotle, who is the main focus of the painting.  By bringing in past philosophers, Raphael makes an unrivaled setting for the development of humanitarian thoughts.  

Does it seem ironic that a painting that is promoting humanitarian thoughts was placed in the Vatican?  The Vatican and the Catholic church believed in strict obedience TO church dogma and tried to dispel any other beliefs that may have contradicted their own. The message that Raphael is trying to get across through this piece of art directly contradicts the ideas of the Church.  Looking at Plato and Aristotle in the center of the painting, it is easy to tell that Aristotle’s hand is pointing toward the ground and Plato, in the red robe, is pointing towards the sky, referring to the heavens.    Aristotle is trying to convince Plato that the answers lie on earth in physical science and practical reason.  This contradicts the church because it maintained that the heavens hold all the answers. (Silenos, Socrates)  It was a very bold move on the part of Raphael to put a painting of this nature in the Vatican and send a message to the church that would still be relevant today.    

Luther In 1533

Painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder, this depiction of Martin Luther may be deceiving.  This painting portrays Luther as a very serene man, although he was quite the opposite.  Considering his facial expression, some may come to the conclusion that Luther was a recluse and kept to his own business.  The artist may have used this technique to give the viewer an unbiased view of Luther’s personality.  Similar to Di Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the viewer is forced to think about what they see and use their imagination to understand the meaning of the painting.

Martin Luther is one of the most revolutionary religious figures in history.  In the 16th century, the Catholic Church sold indulgences to the common people of Italy.  The citizens believed that their sins would be rid of if they paid for an indulgence.  Despite being a priest, Martin Luther disagreed with this practice and saw it as immoral.  In 1517, he protested against this practice by posting his 95 theses condemning the selling of indulgences on the door of the Wittenburg chapel.  Due to the perseverance of Luther by not taking back his words in front of the Diet of Worms, he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1520. (Martin Luther)  If it were not for the perseverance of one man, there might be even much corruption within the Catholic church of today.  

The Death of Socrates

In this powerful painting by Jacques-Louis David in 1787, a tremendous amount of emotion is shown in the faces of everyone depicted.  As Socrates is sitting on the bed, he receives attention from a few of the people present, but for others the scene is too hard to bear.  The artist did a great job in showing detail in each person’s face.  This tactic lets the viewer understand the severity of the situation and have their own emotion for Socrates and the others involved.  Socrates has a valorous look on his face as he points up to the sky, referring to the heavens.  Through immense detail, the artist allows the viewer to become engaged with the painting.

Socrates lived from 469 -399 BCE, and is one of the most renowned philosophers, even though his writing is ancient.  There are a few records of Socrates’ life written by Aristophanes, Xenophon, and Plato that still remain.  Aristophanes, who was a playwright, directed a play in which the character Socrates ran a Think-O-Rama where men studied the natural world as it was.  His character also made fun of Athenian gods by providing naturalistic explanations for things that were only thought of as supernatural.  Plato, being one of Socrates' students at the age of 25, provides modern day historians with the most information to draw upon. Throughout Socrates career as a Philosopher, he believed in the natural world and found it intriguing to try to explain it.  We see this train of thought in the works of Plato, predominantly his cave analogy.  However the work of Socrates came to an end in the summer of 399 with his trial and execution.  According to a document written by Meletus, Socrates was charged with the capital crime of irreverence: “Failure to show due piety toward the gods of Athens.”  Following the trial when Socrates was found guilty of finding the Athenian gods irreverent, he was sentenced to execution.  He could have easily escaped into exile, but persevered for what he knew was right and stood up for the Athenian people.  A few days following the trial, he courageously drank hemlock plant and passed away. Before his death, he points to the heavens, as if he is blaming his death on the gods that he found irreverent. (Nails, Debra) If Socrates would have simply given in and gone into exile, his everlasting point would not exist today.  

The Stonewall Riots of 1969

The Stonewall Riots took place in New York City in 1969.  Gay and lesbian groups, advocating for equal rights, marched around Greenwich Village and converged at the Stonewall Inn, located in one of the only gay parts of town.  This marked the first time that gay and lesbian groups had fought back against the discrimination to which they were subjected.  In this anonymous photograph, a group of protesters are speaking out for their rights. (The battle between monotheism and homosexuality)  The Gay men and women are fearless in displaying their sexuality to the general public.   With gay feelings and smiles on their faces, the homosexual community made a statement to the straight community that they were no longer “in the closet.”  As one can tell by their attitudes, they are proud of who they are and would like to let everyone else know it.

One of the greatest sources of hatred toward homosexuals is the scripture of the Bible.  Christians are highly intolerant of gays and are the main contributors to the discrimination against homosexuals in the United States.   Religious groups, also including Jews and Muslims, have been the predominant proponents of laws forbidding homosexual marriage.  Due to what they read in scripture, marriage should be between a man and a woman, with no exceptions.  Christians steadfastly fight to outlaw gay rights at every opportunity.  Ironically, 30 precent of Catholic priests have been involved in homosexual behavior, but most are too afraid to speak out because they will receive ridicule. (The battle between monotheism and homosexuality) Nevertheless, as seen in the Stonewall Riots of 1969, gays fought, and still fight, against the stubborn religious groups that deny them their civil rights.

Works Cited

"A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 22 Apr. 2011.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Philosopher_Lecturing_on_the_Orrery>.

"Martin Luther." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther>.

Nails, Debra, "Socrates", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2010 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2010/entries/socrates/>.

Socrates, Silenos. "The School Of Athens." AncientWorlds. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.ancientsites.com/aw/Article/555679>.

"The Battle Between Monotheism and Homosexuality." Vexen Crabtree's Websites: Forcing Humanity Onwards. Web. 22 Apr. 2011. <http://www.vexen.co.uk/religion/homosexuality.html