Painting of a woman, full length, facing left. She is seated in a landscape, with her head in resting in her left hand. In her right hand she holds a wooden recorder and green ribbon, which is attached to a small grey and white dog sitting at her feet. She is dressed in a classical-looking white gown, held at the waist by a light blue tie, and a long green shawl is draped over her right shoulder and over her left leg. She wears sandals. The landscape in which she is seated is green, with hints of autumn colour. Two trees, at either side of the canvas, frame the scene. The edge of a stream is visible in the lower left corner and beyond a green hill fringed by trees slopes away to the left to reveal a distant view of hills. An inscription on a rock to the lower right reads: 'I.W. Pinxt. / 1781'. Painted by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734 - 1797). Oil on canvas in gilded frame. Painted by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734 - 1797). Oil on canvas in gilded frame. Glazed.

Exhibitions:

  • Title: 13th Exhibition of the Royal Academy
    Venue: Royal Academy of Arts
    Dates: from 16/04/1781 to 16/04/1781
  • Title: Midland Counties Exhibition
    Venue: Derby Drill Hall
    Dates: from 01/05/1870 to 01/05/1870
  • Title: Paintings by Joseph Wright, A.R.A., commonly called "Wright of Derby", together with some Original Drawings, and a Complete Collection of Prints after his Works
    Venue: Derby Corporation Art Gallery
    Dates: from 16/04/1883 to 16/04/1883
  • 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, 1734 - 1797
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from to
  • 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: Olympia Fine Art and Antiques Fair
    Venue: Olympia
    Dates: from 01/06/1984 to 09/06/1984
  • Title: Wright of Derby
    Venue: Tate Gallery
    Dates: from 16/04/1990 to 16/04/1990
  • Title: 18th Century Blues: Exploring the Melancholy Mind
    Venue: Shipley Art Gallery
    Dates: from 20/06/2008 to 31/08/2008
  • Title: Loan Exhibition of Works by Joseph Wright A.R.A. of Derby
    Venue: Graves' Galleries
    Dates: from 16/04/2026 to 16/04/2026

Publications

  • Title: Wright of Derby
    Published Place: London
    Copyright: The Tate Gallery
    Published Year: 1990
  • 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

  • Laurence Sterne (Association)

    Display Date: British, 1713 - 1768

    Nationality: British

    Biography: Writer and cleric. Author of 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' (1759 - 1767) and 'A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy' (1768).

  • Joseph Wright of Derby (Artist)

    Display Date: British, 1734 - 1797

    Nationality: British

    Biography: Artist.

Maria, from Sterne

Date: 1781

Medium: Oil on canvas.

Object Type:Painting
Dimensions:Frame: 1873 × 1441 × 90 mm (73 3/4 × 56 3/4 × 3 9/16 in.) Support: 1600 × 1155 mm (63 × 45 1/2 in.)
Description:Maria is a character in Laurence Sterne’s popular novel 'A Sentimental Journey', published in 1768. In the story, ‘poor Maria’ has been deserted by her lover and grieves over the recent death of her father. Only her faithful dog Sylvio remains to keep her company. Maria’s unhappy tale captured the imagination of artists and the public alike. Between 1777 and 1819, twenty paintings of the subject were exhibited in London alone, two of which were produced by Wright. In this second version Wright drew upon traditional imagery to give a sense of melancholy through Maria’s pose and the fading autumnal light of the setting. The aim was to create an emotive scene capable of inspiring empathy within his audiences.
Inscriptions:'I.W. Pinxt. / 1781' recto, lower right, on rock face.
Provenance:Listed in Wright's Account Book as 'A full length of Maria £84'; remained unsold during Wright's lifetime; offered at his posthumous sale, Christie’s 6 May 1801 (lot 49), whereupon bought in at £38.17.0; ...; with William Bemrose in 1870 and 1883; by descent to his son, Charles Lloyd Bemrose, by 1910; ...; offered for sale by Agnew's in 1918; ...; offered for sale by Arthur Tooth & Sons, from whom purchased by Derby Museums in 1925.
Viewing Status:Contact Us
Item Ref:1925-986
Browse Collection
Browse Collection