A focus on Wright of Derby’s hugely atmospheric ‘candlelight’ paintings, which have become his most popular works.

Renowned for his depictions of dramatic contrasts between darkness and light, Joseph Wright of Derby created a significant series of paintings ‘by candlelight’ between 1765 and 1773. Centred around masterpieces including An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump from the National Gallery and A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery from Derby Museum and Art Gallery, this publication explores the social and artistic context of these pictures, foregrounding them as outstanding examples of European painting.

The candlelight scenes offer a wealth of insights into Wright’s own thinking as well as contemporary preoccupations during the ‘Age of Enlightenment’, reflecting the artist’s concerns with death, melancholy, scientific progress and scepticism. The publication also discusses aesthetic debates concerning the sublime, as well as childhood wonder, curiosity and the loss of innocence. In addition to paintings and mezzotints, it considers related objects, such as contemporary scientific instruments.

Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press

“Far more than simply a memorial of the superb exhibition it accompanied, it will endure as an indispensable addition to the literature on late-medieval Italian art.”—John Renner, Journal of the British Archaeological Association

Christine Riding is Director of Collections and Research at the National Gallery, London.

Jon King is the Bernays Curatorial Fellow of British Paintings at the National Gallery, London.