The National Gallery reexamines Wright of Derby as a painter of night, not just light
Joseph Wright of Derby, A Philosopher Giving That Lecture on the Orrery in Which a Lamp Is Put in Place, 1764-1766. Oil on canvas, 147.3 x 203.2 cm. Derby Museum and Art Gallery (1884-168) © Derby Museums X12392
LONDON.—
The National Gallery presents Wright of Derby: From the Shadows, the first exhibition dedicated to Joseph Wright ‘of Derby’ (1734–1797) at the National Gallery, and the first exhibition to focus on his ‘candlelight’ series. The exhibition is organised in partnership with Derby Museums, where it will travel in 2026.
Following on from recent exhibitions such as Turner on Tour (2022) and Discover Constable & The Hay Wain (2024), this exhibition puts the spotlight on a well-known British artist in the National Gallery Collection whose work has come to symbolise an era. Traditionally, Wright of Derby has been viewed as a figurehead of the Enlightenment, a period of scientific, philosophical and artistic development in the 17th and 18th century. Challenging this conventional view, the exhibition contributes to the ongoing re-evaluation of the artist, portraying him not merely as a ‘painter of light’ but as one who deliberately explores the night-time to engage with deeper and more sombre themes, including death, melancholy, morality, scepticism and the sublime.
This exhibition focuses on Joseph Wright’s career between 1765 and 1773, during which time he made a series of candlelit scenes. The National Gallery is showing a number of masterpieces from this period including 'Three Persons Viewing the Gladiator by Candlelight' (1765, private collection), 'A Philosopher giving that Lecture on the Orrery in Which a Lamp is Put in Place of the Sun' (1766, Derby Museums ) and the National Gallery’s An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768). This marks the first time in 35 years that all these works have been brought together. Also on display at the National Gallery is 'An Academy by Lamplight', 1769, from the Yale Center for British Art, USA. This work has not been on display in the UK in the last decade.
In these ‘candlelight’ paintings, Wright of Derby shows thrilling moments, not just of discovery but of shared learning. His dramatic depictions of natural and artificial light link his work back to the artistic traditions of the Renaissance and artists such as Caravaggio, whose strong light and deep shadows were rarely employed in British art before the mid-18th century.
Yet Wright also engaged with very contemporary questions around the act of observation, spectacle and education raised by philosophers of the Enlightenment. In his masterpiece 'An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump', a travelling lecturer shows a well-established experiment to a family audience whose reactions range from wonder to horror. In 'The Orrery', the first of his paintings on a ‘scientific’ subject, a philosopher presents a lecture on astronomy using a clockwork model of the solar system as the centrepiece, the sun replaced by an oil lamp. In 'Three Persons Viewing the Gladiator by Candlelight', one artist holds up a drawing of the central sculpture for critical assessment. These works explore moral ambiguity in acts of looking, as well as the intellectual influence of ‘high’ art.
Wright of Derby was working at a turning point for art viewing in the 18th century, when the public display of art and the instigation of annual contemporary art exhibitions were being promoted. 'The Air Pump' was completed the same year as the creation of the Royal Academy and was intended to be accessible to a broad public (though it was displayed at the Society of Artists). Mezzotint prints of Wright’s works, which played a key role in establishing his international reputation, is also on display. These luxury prints highlight how the artist took full advantage of popular reproduction techniques of his time to expand his reputation both at home and abroad.
As well as these prints, contemporary visitors have the opportunity to encounter the artistic, and scientific instruments of the Enlightenment, including an orrery and an air pump from the late 1700s, on loan from the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, Cambridge.
'Wright of Derby: From the Shadows' shows over twenty works, including other paintings, works on paper and objects which explore both Wright of Derby’s artistic practice and the historic context of scientific and artistic development in which they were made. Seventeen artworks come from Derby Museums, who hold the world’s largest collection of Wright’s work. In 2026, 'Wright of Derby: From the Shadows', will travel to Derby Museum and Art Gallery, bringing two of Wright’s most famous works, 'The Air Pump' and 'The Orrery', back to his hometown for the first time in 80 years.
