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Joseph Wright of Derby RA (* 3 September 1734 in Derby; † 28 August 1797 in Derby) styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wright is notable for his use of tenebrism effect, which emphasizes 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 of Birmingham, a group of 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. Many of Wright's paintings and drawings are owned by Derby City Council, and are on display at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery.

*1734-1797

Joseph Wright of Derby

MORE FROM THIS ARTIST

Oil on canvas, 183,0 x 244,0 cm
 The National Gallery, London, UK
 © Bridgeman Images

91 | An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (Das Experiment mit dem Vogel in der Lu pumpe), c. 1767-1768

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