Joseph Wright of Derby

(British, 1734–1797)

Room Paintings holds seven paintings by Joseph Wright of Derby, from the National Gallery of Art, The Met and the Cleveland Museum of Art. They date from 1760 to 1790. We file most of them under Romanticism, and some under 18th-Century Painting. The most common subjects are portraits, men and landscapes. All of them suit a room in our lists, most often the staircase and bedroom.

Styles

Rooms

Museums

The 7 paintings

Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming, Joseph Wright of Derby, 1779, oil on canvas

Joseph Wright of Derby Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming, 1779 The Met

The image shows a portrait of a man with a soft, round face, a slightly double chin, small eyes, and a neutral expression. He has gray, voluminous hair styled in the fashion of the 18th century.

Joseph Wright of Derby Portrait of a Gentleman, c. 1760 National Gallery of Art

Mountains painted in tones of sage and mint green and mauve purple are backlit against a hazy sky in this expansive, nearly square landscape painting.

Joseph Wright of Derby Italian Landscape, 1790 National Gallery of Art

Portrait of Colonel Charles Heathcote, Joseph Wright of Derby, c. 1771–72, oil on canvas

Joseph Wright of Derby Portrait of Colonel Charles Heathcote, c. 1771–72 Cleveland Museum of Art

Portrait of a Woman, Joseph Wright of Derby, ca. 1770, oil on canvas

Joseph Wright of Derby Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1770 The Met

The painting depicts a man shown from the knees up, standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his head turned to the right. He has light skin, ruddy cheeks with a brown mole, a long nose, and small red lips in a neutral expression.

Joseph Wright of Derby Portrait of a Gentleman, c. 1770-1773 National Gallery of Art

A woman leans forward to trace the shadow cast by a sleeping young man on a wall in a dimly lit room in this horizontal painting. Both people have smooth, pale skin, long, straight noses, thin lips, and brown hair.

Joseph Wright of Derby The Corinthian Maid, 1782-1784 National Gallery of Art