Joseph Wright of Derby

Joseph Wright of Derby was born in Derby, September 3, 1734 and died in Derby, August 29, 1797.

Wright received his early training in the London studio of Thomas Hudson, originally serving a two-year apprenticeship (1751-53) and later returning for fifteen months (1756-57). Intellectual and searching in his approach to art, Wright rapidly evolved his own unique style. The interest in chiaroscuro that marks his early portraits translated into a series of pictures exploring the effects of candlelight and moonlight. In large-scale depictions of popular scientific experiments, he embodied his own inquiring spirit, as well as the intellectual curiosity of his age. Membership in the Lunar Society brought him into contact with such important scientists and industrialists as Erasmus Darwin and James Watt. Between 1774 and 1775, Wright traveled to Italy where he studied classical statuary and architecture, and witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius. After a short and unsuccessful attempt to establish a practice in Bath, he spent the remainder of his career working in Derby, painting nocturnal scenes, landscapes, and portraits. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1781 but declined an offer of full membership in 1784.