Joseph Wright

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Erasmus Darwin, detail of an oil painting by Joseph Wright, 1770; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

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Joseph Wright

English painter

Also known as: Wright of Derby

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 15, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Byname:: Joseph Wright of Derby

Born:: September 3, 1734, Derby, Derbyshire, England

Died:: August 29, 1797, Derby (aged 62)

Movement / Style:: English school

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News •

Derby: Grade II listing for empty building with 'rich history' • Dec. 12, 2024, 10:03 PM ET (BBC)

Joseph Wright (born September 3, 1734, Derby, Derbyshire, England—died August 29, 1797, Derby) was an English painter who was a pioneer in the artistic treatment of industrial subjects. He was also the best European painter of artificial light of his day. Wright was trained as a portrait painter by Thomas Hudson in the 1750s. Wright’s home was Derby, one of the great centres of the birth of the Industrial Revolution, and his depictions of scenes lit by moonlight or candlelight combine the realism of the new machinery with the romanticism involved in its application to industry and science. His pictures ...(100 of 137 words)

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