Joseph Wright of Derby

Joseph Wright of Derby's paintings make light a central means of organizing figures, objects, and human attention. In An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, a demonstration gathers different expressions around a concentrated source of illumination. Portraits, workshop scenes, and landscapes use other settings to explore the relationship between observed forms and darkness. These paintings connect the people and activities of eighteenth-century Britain with a sustained study of how light can structure a narrative.