Joseph Wright
Born – Derby, England 1734
Died – Derby, England 1797
As Joseph Wright lived and worked in the Midlands town of Derby he became known as “Wright of Derby”. He was the first British painter if significance from outside London, although his training in the 1760s took place in the capital. He first came to prominence as a portrait painter. In Derby he found admirers among industrialists and inventors, Arkwright and Wedgewood became his patrons and, from the 1760s, his paintings commented upon the scientific advances made by the emerging Industrial Revolution. He specialized in extraordinary light effects; his candlelit scenes recalled the work of Dutch artists such as Honthorst. Experiment with an Air Pump is generally regarded as his finest work. In the painting, the lamplight dramatically highlights a domestic interior, revealing a mixture of awe, fascination and fear in the faces of the assembled group. Wright visited Italy between 1773-1775, where he witnessed an eruption of Vesuvius, as well as a grand, theatrical firework display. Toward the end of his career, he became increasingly interested in paintings the English landscape.
Masterpieces:
- A Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the Orrery
- The Academy by Candlelight
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About joseph wright
Joseph Wright
Stephen Daniels
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Joseph Wright of Derby in Liverpool (Yale Center for British Art)
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Lost and Found: Wright of Derby's View of Gibraltar
John Bonehill
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