Sold....portrait of a Gentleman C.1770; Circle of Joseph Wright of Derby.

Oil on canvas in a late 18th century giltwood frame.

The handsome young man sits pensive, his thoughts far away, probably concerning the letter he holds in his right hand...a letter from his beloved?

The portrait is painted with great sensitivity and demonstrates the chiaroscuro that was a characteristic of Wright.

The typical traits of Wright’s portraiture are apparent – an easy handling of the fall of light that diffuses over the sitter’s face, and along the shoulders of his coat to give the soft appearance almost of pastel – a reminder that Wright was also an accomplished painter in chalks and pastels.

JOSEPH WRIGHT (1734 – 1797), styled Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter.

Wright is notable for his use of Chiaroscuro effect, which emphasises the contrast of light and dark, and for his paintings of candle-lit subjects. His paintings of the birth of science out of alchemy, often based on the meetings of the Lunar Society, a group of very influential scientists and industrialists living in the English Midlands, are a significant record of the struggle of science against religious values in the period known as the Age of Enlightenment.

Joseph Wright was born in Irongate, Derby. Deciding to become a painter, he went to London in 1751 and for two years studied under Thomas Hudson, the master of Joshua Reynolds. After painting portraits for a while at Derby, Wright again worked as an assistant to Hudson for fifteen months.

In 1753 he returned to and settled in Derby; he also spent a productive period in Liverpool, from 1768 to 1771, painting portraits. These included pictures of a number of prominent citizens and their families.

Wright married Ann (also known as Hannah) Swift on 28 July 1773.

Wright and his wife had six children, three of whom died in infancy. He established himself at Bath as a portrait-painter, but meeting with little encouragement he returned to Derby in 1777, where he spent the rest of his life. Ann Wright died on 17 August 1790. On 29 August 1797 Wright died at his new home at No. 28 Queen Street, Derby, where he had spent his final months with his two daughters.[

Wright was a frequent contributor to the exhibitions of the Society of Artists, and to those of the Royal Academy, of which he was elected an associate in 1781 and a full member in 1784. He, however, declined the latter honour on account of a slight which he believed that he had received, and severed his official connection with the Academy, though he continued to contribute to the exhibitions from 1783 until 1794.

SIZE:37.25 x 32.25 inches inc. frame.

PROVENANCE:

European Private Collection.

Private Collection, London.