Joseph wright of derby
1734-97
English painter. He painted portraits, landscapes and subjects from literature, but his most original and enduringly celebrated works are a few which reflect the philosophical and technological preoccupations of the later 18th century and are characterized by striking effects of artificial light. He was the first major English painter to work outside the capital all his life: apart from spells in Liverpool (1768-71), Italy (1773-5) and Bath (1775-7), he lived and worked in his native Derby, though exhibiting in London at both the Society of Artists (1765-76, 1791) and the Royal Academy (1778-82, 1789-90, 1794).
ID: 71915 Vesuvius from Posxllipo Vesuvius from Posxllipo, oil on canvas, c. 1788, by Joseph Wright of Derby, on display in the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
