Day 58 - Industrial Revolution

Due to the Enlightenment's focus on scientific investigations and technological advances, new possibilities were opened up for the understanding of how to develop and control natural resources.  Findings for new uses led to new inventions which in turn allowed people to harness natural resources and create new efficiencies which would replace manual labor.  Some of the most important discoveries were steam power, electricity and combustion and the mass-production of steel.  Combined with newly valued "progress" England was catapulted into the Industrial Revolution giving rise the the Industrialization of modern societies.  Within the century Europe was transformed by coal, steam, oil, iron, steel, and electricity and these advances quickly made their way to the Americas and the world. 

The most significant developments in art at the time were made in photography and architecture.  The architecture of the time expanded as new building materials made it possible to push the limits of what was possible and steel and glass skyscrapers were soon being built around the world.

Artists also took an interest in the technology and inventions during this time, some embracing the process of photography which eventually changed the way the world was portrayed, blurring the lines between art and reality, and changing the way history was recorded.

The 1698 Savery Engine – the world's first commercially
useful steam engine, built by Thomas Savery. Improvement in
safety and pumping volume were made during the 17th century.

Coalbrookdale by Night, 1801, Philipp Jakob Loutherbourg the Younger
Blast furnaces light the iron making town of Coalbrookdale, England.

The Crystal Palace, built in 1851, exemplifies the use of sheet
glass in a new and innovative structure.

Joseph Write of Derby, A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery (ca. 1766).
This painting shows the artist interest in the inventions of the time and
portrays an informal philosophical society, many of which cropped
up and helped to spread scientific advances.

References:

1. Gardner's Art Through the Ages, A Global History, 13th ed., by Fred S. Kleiner - Chapter 29
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution