he painted for middle-class citizens.1 He intricately portrayed scenes of brilliant thinkers in their studies with the atmosphere of his humble hometown. A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery was the second of three paintings produced by Wright of Derby in which the scholars were depicted in their studies at night, by candlelight. “The Orrery” was painted in 1766. The sequence of candlelight paintings was done for personal reasons and not for money. However, these three pieces became very popular