Exhibitions:

  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: An Exhibition to Commemorate the Centenary of Derby Museums and Art Gallery
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 21/04/1979 to 21/07/1979
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby, 1734-1797: Bicentenary Exhibition
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 21/06/1997 to 28/09/1997

Publications

  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby 1734 - 1797
    Sub-Title: An introduction to the work of Joseph Wright of Derby with a catalogue of drawings held by Derby Museum and Art Gallery. Published on the occasion of an exhibition commemorating the Bicentenary of the artist's death.
    Published Place: Derby
    Published Year: 1997
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Painter of Light
    Sub-Title: Volume 1
    Volume: 1
    Published Place: London
    Copyright: Benedict Nicolson, 1968
    Published Year: 1968

Related People

  • Joseph Wright of Derby (Artist)

    Display Date: British, 1734 - 1797

    Nationality: British

    Biography: Artist.

  • Cincinnatus (Content)

Study of 'Cincinnatus', after the Antique

Date: 1771

Medium: Pencil and black chalk, partially stumped, with white chalk on brown laid paper.

Object Type:Drawing
Dimensions:Support: 505 × 318 mm (19 7/8 × 12 1/2 in.)
Description:Haskell and Penny note that between the 16th and 18th centuries, the sculpture was known as Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, or the 'Cincinnatus'. Winckelmann described it as a sculpture of 'Jason'. It was not until the second half of the 19th century that it was associated with Hermes, although H&P note that this is not the generally accepted name for it and it is usually described as the 'Sandal Binder'. A version was sent to France, which is now at the Louvre, and a cast of this sculpture was on display at the French Academy in Rome. It was also reproduced in print. Another version was discovered by Gavin Hamilton in 1769 and sold to the Marquess of Shelbourne (later Lord Landsdowne) in 1772. A cast of this sculpture was presented to the Royal Academy of Arts. The original is now in the collection of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. [Haskell and Penny, 'Taste and the Antique' (1981), p.182-184.] Note that Wright's 'Cincinnatus' appears to follow the Landsdowne Sandal Binder, with the drapery arranged over the arm. The Louvre Sandal Binder shows the drapery over the raised leg only, and not around the arm. In contrast to the linear pen and ink style of his Italian studies, Wright here employs an academic manner closer to the two early cast studies done in Hudson's studio and those that appear in the paintings 'Three Persons viewing the Gladiator by Candlelight' and 'An Academy by Lamplight'. These early genre scenes demonstrate that he had come into contact with the growing admiration for antiquity. In Derby, Wright had been associated with a significant group of humanists and intellectuals who certainly could have brought Wright in touch with the prevailing thoughts of the day. Nicolson believed, that this sculpture of Hermes, discovered in 1769 by Gavin Hamilton and sold to the 2nd Earl of Shelbourne, would have been unavailable for Wright to copy until after his return from Italy. The carefully stumped modelling of the drawing, however, does have affinities with the style Wright had been using earlier for highly finished charcoal portraits, such as those of The Coltmans of c1771-2. [George Baker in Jane Wallis's exhibition catalogue of 1997] Note diagonal hatching in background of this study is similar to that in Wright's study after Piazetta (DBYMU 1980-717/7). Handling is similar too, with fine black chalk outlines. Use of white chalk is greater in this study, however. Both studies appear to have been made using a stump. [LB and ME: 2024]
Provenance:...; William Bemrose of Derby; by descent to his son, Charles Lloyd Bemrose, by whom donated to Derby Museums in 1914.
Viewing Status:Contact Us
Item Ref:1914-517/18
Browse Collection
Browse Collection