Drawing of a female figure, leaning on a plinth, identified as a study of the muse Urania, from the Roman sarcophagus of the Muses. She faces right, and rests her head on her left hand. In her right hand she holds a long object. At her feet is a globe. Inscribed on recto, on sphere (handwritten in pencil): 'J. W. March / 12..1774' and to top left (handwritten in ink): '35'. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), 1774. Pencil and charcoal on laid paper. Displayed in a cream window mount.

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
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Life on Paper
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 23/05/2025 to 07/09/2025

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

Related People

  • Joseph Wright of Derby (Artist)

    Display Date: British, 1734 - 1797

    Nationality: British

    Biography: Artist.

  • Urania (Content)

Study of Urania (from the Sarcophagus of the Muses), after the Antique

Date: 12.3.1774

Medium: Pencil and charcoal on laid paper.

Object Type:Drawing
Dimensions:Support: 524 × 337 mm (20 5/8 × 13 1/4 in.)
Description:This sheet, dated 'March 12,' is the earliest drawing to have survived from the extensive series of 'studies after the Antique' Wright made in Rome. The inscription reveals he began his work at the Capitoline Museum, the first public museum of antiquities which opened in 1734. The predominately linear pen and ink style, employed over a preliminary pencil or charcoal sketch, is characteristic of Wright's Italian studies. This study illustrates Wright's skill at rendering intricate drapery, while also demonstrating his occasionally awkward problems with anatomical proportion. [George Baker (with Jane Wallis) in the 1997 bicentenary exhibition catalogue, p.89] The figure is Urania, from the Roman sarcophagus of the Muses. She is the muse of astronomy and is depicted with a globe at her feet. The sarcophagus was in the Capitoline Museum in Rome at the time of Wright's Italian tour. It is now at the Louvre in Paris. [LB: 2024]
Inscriptions:Inscribed on recto, on sphere (handwritten in pencil): 'J. W. March / 12..1774' and to top left (handwritten in ink): '35'.
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:1914-517/37
Browse Collection
Browse Collection