3-044-029 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Study of a Boy Reading, about 1766. Additional Info: This drawing relates to 'A Philosopher giving that lecture on the Orrery, in which a lamp is put in place of the Sun' (Derby Museum), exhibited in 1766; the features of the reading boy in the drawing are extremely similar to those of a boy pictured in the foreground of the painting. The Orrery painting was bought by Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers, and family tradition notes that the boy shown in the foreground was his nephew Laurence Rowland (1757-73), who would have been nine or ten years old at the time. Although not a direct study for the painting (the lighting is different), the identification (and link between painting and drawing) is compelling and has been reinforced in recent publications.