Exhibitions:

  • Title: Wright of Derby: The Bi-centenary Exhibition of Paintings by Joseph Wright
    Venue: Derby Corporation Art Gallery
    Dates: from 03/09/1934 to 18/11/1934
  • Title: Pictures by Joseph Wright of Derby
    Venue: Graves Art Gallery
    Dates: from 17/07/1950 to 27/07/1950
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby
    Venue: Norwich Castle Museum
    Dates: from 03/01/1959 to 01/02/1959
  • 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: A Sentimental Journey: Joseph Wright in Italy, 1773-1775
    Venue: Pickford's House Museum
    Dates: from 01/06/2010 to 05/09/2010
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Bath and Beyond
    Venue: The Holburne Museum of Art
    Dates: from 25/01/2014 to 05/05/2014
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Bath and Beyond (2)
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 24/05/2014 to 31/08/2014
  • 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.

Vesuvius

Date: c. 1774-1775

Medium: Black chalk over pencil on laid paper.

Object Type:Drawing
Dimensions:Support: 372 × 511 mm (14 5/8 × 20 1/8 in.)
Description:The view is of Vesuvuis erupting, encircled in the foreground by part of the rim of the Campanian volcanic arc. The drawing is composed with a border suggesting a design possibly intended for a engraving. Jane Wallis suggests that the use of chalk ('highly controlled use of this difficult medium') and the presence of the border around the scene, indicates it to be a studio drawing; though one produced soon after witnessing the spectacle, rather than from memory. [see Wallis, J. 'Joseph Wright of Derby' (1997), p.80.] Inscriptions on this drawing, and others in the same group (DBYMU 1921-837), suggest that it was given to Gisborne by John Holland of Ford in 1798, the year after Wright died. Holland served as an executor to Wright's will and was responsible for dispersing the contents of his studio. [LB: 2024] Included in 1934 Derby exhibition; catalogue entry states provenance as 'Gisborne Collection, Yoxall Lodge'. Also states exhibited in 1883 Derby exhibition, but does not appear in the catalogue; of works on paper, only two pencil sketches of Vesuvius (no.122) and a watercolour (no.118) are recorded as having been lent by 'Hon. Mrs E. W. Griffith'. Yoxall Lodge and its contents were sold at auction, conducted by Messrs Winterton & Sons of Lichfield, between 7 and 9 September 1921. This is recorded in an advertisement in the Tamworth Herald for Saturday 3 September, in which it mentions 'oil paintings by Bogdani and Joseph Wright, ARA.' The advertisement states that a catalogue was available, but I have not been able to locate this so far. It is assumed that Crosland purchased the portfolio of drawings at the auction and sold it to DM shortly afterwards. [LB: 2024] A similar drawing was with Lowell Libson in c.2014, with a Gilbert Inglefield provenance (illustrated in BN, 1968, plate 165). It shows a view of Vesuvius in eruption by moonlight, with the Bay of Naples beyond, as per the Tate's painting. The medium is the same. The drawing is inscribed: 'J. Wright delin 1775' and also carries an inscription by John Holland of Ford: 'Mount Vesuvius / Drawing was made by Wright of Derby when in Italy in 1775.' The proximity of the drawings to one another in terms of style and technique might suggest a later date of 1775 for DM's example. I have therefore tentatively amended the date of this work to reflect this: c.1774-75. [LB: 2024]
Inscriptions:Inscribed on the recto (handwritten in ink): '5'; on the verso (handwritten in ink): 'Chalk drawing of Mount Vesuvius by Mr Wright. This drawing was passed through rolling press to fix the chalk'; on the verso, to lower right (handwritten in pencil): 'The Hon'ble Mrs W E Griffiths'.
Provenance:?With Wright's executor, John Holland of Ford Hall, Derbyshire, by whom given to Reverend Thomas Gisborne of Yoxall Lodge, Staffordshire, in 1798; thence by descent to the Hon. Mrs Emily Wingfield Gisborne (later the Hon. Mrs Emily Wingfield Griffiths) of Yoxall Lodge, by whom sold Winterton & Sons of Lichfield, 7-9 September 1921; purchased by E. Crosland of Derby, from whom purchased by Derby Museums in 1921.
Viewing Status:Contact Us
Item Ref:1921-837/1
Browse Collection
Browse Collection