Drawing of a woodland landscape, the central focus of which is a group of trees growing upon a bank of rock. Inscribed on the verso, top left (handwritten in ink): 'July 30th 1782 - / from a sketch of Mr. Wright's' and below (handwritten in pencil): '837-7-21'. The edges of the sheet are rough, and sheet shows creases throughout. Lower right corner is missing. Made by an unknown artist, after Joseph Wright (1734 - 1797), 1782. Ink and grey ink wash over pencil on paper. Displayed in a cream window mount.

Exhibitions:

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.

Study of Rocks and Trees

Date: 1782

Medium: Pen and ink and grey ink wash over pencil on laid paper.

Object Type:	Drawing
Dimensions:	Support: 381 × 543 mm (15 × 21 3/8 in.)
Description:	Inscription to verso states that this drawing was made after a drawing by Joseph Wright. It has been suggested that the handwriting is the Reverend Thomas Gisborne's. The drawing was one of a group of drawings purchased from Enoch Crosland of Derby, which are said to have come from the sale of the contents of Yoxall Lodge, Gisborne's former home, in 1921. Jane Wallis (1997) suggested a strong resemblance between the subject of this drawing and DBYMU 1943-967, surmising that it may have been made by Reverend Thomas Gisborne himself, after a drawing by Wright. She goes on to suggest that the slightly different viewpoints of the two drawings hint at the two artists sketching the same subject, side by side. A comparison with a drawing of apparently the same subject by John Downman in Tate's collection however, would suggest that Wright's original drawing was made in Italy and perhaps later loaned to a fellow artist (e.g. Gisborne) for study. [LB, 2023] Watermark: Strasbourg Lily, i.e. fleur de lis within shield surmounted by coronet with insignia consisting of the figure 4 based on double chevrons suspended from the shield, below the insignia is suspended the countermark 'VDL'. Comparison with similiar watermarks suggests this may be the production of the important Dutch papermaking family of Van der Ley (see for instance MA-0469 in the Berstein Portal database of watermarks). Van der Ley paper was widely distributed and available to purchase in England in the 18th century. [LB, 2023] Study of Rocks and Trees, by an unknown artist, c.1790-1795 [JW, 1997]
Inscriptions:	Inscribed on the verso, top left (handwritten in ink): 'July 30th 1782 - / from a sketch of Mr. Wright's' and below (handwritten in pencil): '837-7-21'.
Provenance:	Reverend Thomas Gisborne of Yoxall Lodge, Staffordshire; thence by descent to the Hon. Mrs Emily Wingfield Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (later the Hon. 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:	1921-837/7