Rousseau in Wootton

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Posted on 13 July 2012

wrights painting Stephen Leach In the latest edition of The British Art Journal (vol. XIII, no. 1) is an article co-written by renowned Staffordshire sculptor Simon Manby and Keele philosopher Stephen Leach, who is an Honorary Fellow of the Research Institute for Law, Politics and Justice.

The title is 'Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Joseph Wright's Philosophy by Lamplight', and it concerns the fascinating and little-known story of Rousseau's stay in a cave in Wootton, not far from Keele, from 1766-7. Rousseau came to England at the invitation of David Hume, and the Leach and Manby article contends that Wright's famous painting, now in Derby Museum and Art Gallery, is in fact a depiction of Rousseau in his Staffordshire cave, which was intended to comment on his estrangement from Hume during this period.

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