Learning the style of Rait

Joseph Wright of Derby was an Enlightenment-era English painter, famous for his unique combination of dramatic chiaroscuro (a technique of light and shadow inherited from Caravaggio and Georges de La Tour) with subject matter drawn from the worlds of science, craft, and early industrialism. He is often called «the first professional artist who captured the spirit of the Industrial Revolution.» The light source in his paintings is not the sun or a divine radiance, but a candle, a lamp, glowing metal, or volcanic fire—in other words, light created or tamed by humankind itself.

Project Idea: To utilize a trained neural network to translate this aesthetic—a solitary source of warm light, deep velvety shadows, faces illuminated from below or the side, an atmosphere of quiet reverence for knowledge—onto new narratives where the «light of knowledge» intersects with modernity or fictional scenarios. The series explores the moment a person stands on the threshold of understanding—whether in the 18th century or today—and that understanding literally illuminates them.

1. A group of scientists gathered around a glowing orb of plasma in a dark laboratory, their faces illuminated from below by blue-white light, expressions of wonder and concentration, painting in Wright style.2. A blacksmith’s forge at night, sparks flying upward, the smith’s face lit orange by molten iron, apprentices watching from the shadows, painting in Wright style.3. A solitary astronomer studying a mechanical orrery by candlelight, brass gears catching the flame, a child peering over her shoulder in awe, painting in Wright style.4. An alchemist’s hidden chamber illuminated by a phosphorescent flask, robed figure kneeling in reverence, shelves of glass vessels fading into darkness, painting in Wright style.5. A family gathered around a single oil lamp reading a letter, warm light on their faces, the rest of the room dissolved into deep shadow, painting in Wright style.6. Engineers examining a glowing steam engine core in a dim workshop, faces lit by escaping vapor and firelight, tools scattered on a wooden bench, painting in Wright style.7. A physician holding a lantern over a patient during an experimental operation, onlookers pressed close in candlelit tension, painting in Wright style.8. A distant volcano erupting at night, its glow reflected on the faces of travelers watching from a hillside, dramatic orange light against a black sky, painting in Wright style.9. A young inventor testing a small mechanical bird in a glass vacuum chamber, lit from within by a single candle, family members reacting with fascination and concern, painting in Wright style.10. A hooded traveler reading a map by moonlight and a small lantern at a crossroads, the road disappearing into darkness ahead, painting in Wright style.11. A weaver working late at her loom, illuminated only by a small oil lamp, threads glowing gold against the surrounding dark, painting in Wright style.
   Cover: A lantern and an unfolded map resting on a stone ledge at a moonlit crossroads, a small solitary silhouette standing at a distance beside it, roads disappearing into darkness in different directions, cool moonlight mixing with the lantern’s warm glow, atmosphere of quiet anticipation before a journey, painting in Wright style.