Letter written by Joseph Wright to an unknown recipient, with a study of a view of Castel Sant'Angelo and Saint Peter's in Rome during the annual firework display known as the 'Girandola'. The letter (continued from the recto) is contained within a column on the left side of the sheet and reads: 'The dots signifies the torches on the Church; before the Girandola began the reflection of the Dome was seen on the watter over the bridge being in shad'y but in the time of the Girandola it was scarce seen the water being so illumin'd if you choose to represent the Girandola at the finishing you may represent the Pesce which is thrown out at the same time, you cannot imagine how vex'd I am at my disappointment in regard to the prints you was so kind as send to Mr Cooper for me: Mr Petty the Gentleman who was to have brought them cald[sic] at Mr Coopers as I gave him this Direction but he writes that he has been at Mr Coopers who has chang'd his Lodgings and having not left notice with the neighbours where he has gone to so that he cannot find him and obligd[sic] to sett[sic] out without them. I am much surprisd[sic] at Mr Cooper as a man of bu[illegible, but may read 'business'] not to have left word where he was gone to lodge'. Inscribed on the drawing (handwritten in ink): 'Blackish and Transparent', 'Blueish smoke of the cannon', 'The local colour as much lost', and 'light'. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734 - 1797), 1774. Pencil, pen and ink on laid paper. Displayed in a cream window mount.

Exhibitions:

  • 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 15/04/1883 to 15/04/1883
  • 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: 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: Wright in Italy. Joseph Wright of Derby's Visit Abroad, 1773-5
    Venue: Fraser, David
    Dates: from 08/08/1987 to 20/09/1987
  • Title: Wright of Derby
    Venue: Tate Gallery
    Dates: from 15/04/1990 to 15/04/1990
  • 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 and the Lure of Italy
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 18/03/2016 to 12/06/2016
  • 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
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Painter of Light
    Sub-Title: Volume 1
    Volume: 1
    Published Place: London
    Copyright: Benedict Nicolson, 1968
    Published Year: 1968
  • Title: Wright in Italy
    Sub-Title: Joseph Wright of Derby's Visit Abroad, 1773-5
    Published Place: Sudbury
    Published Year: 1987

Related People

  • William Bemrose (Association)

    Display Date: British, 1831 - 1908

    Nationality: British

    Biography: Printer; writer; collector Born at Derby on 30 December 1831, William Bemrose was the second son in a family of three sons and one daughter of William Bemrose of Derby, founder in 1827 of the printing and publishing firm of William Bemrose & Sons of Derby and London. His mother was Elizabeth Ride of Lichfield. His elder brother, Henry Howe Bemrose (1827-1912), was conservative member of parliament for Derby from 1895 to 1900 and was knighted in 1897. On their father’s retirement in 1857, Bemrose and his brother Henry assumed management of the family printing business, which grew to include an office in London, with branch offices in Leeds and Manchester. Although actively involved in the printing business, Bemrose pursued many other interests. He became a director of the Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Works, leading him to publish three works on china: 'The Pottery and Porcelain of Derbyshire' (1870), in collaboration with A. Wallis; 'Bow, Chelsea and Derby Porcelain' (1898) and 'Longton Hall Porcelain' (1906). Bemrose chiefly devoted his leisure to travel and to a study of many forms of art, on which he was also a successful author. From an early age, he had practised wood-carving, fret-cutting, and modelling in clay, and later compiled useful manuals concerning them for the instruction of amateurs which were well illustrated and circulated widely. Among these was a 'Manual of Wood-carving' (1862), followed by 'Fret-cutting and Perforated Carving ' (Derby, 1868); 'Buhl Work and Marquetry' (1872); 'Paper Rosette Work and how to Make it' (1873) ; 'Instructions in Fret-cutting with Designs' (1875); and 'Mosaicon: or Paper Mosaic and how to Make it' (1875). Bemrose was also an amateur painter in oils and water-colours and collected pictures, china, and articles of 'vertu', especially items of Egyptian art, which he acquired on his travels. In 1858, Bemrose married the great-granddaughter of Joseph Wright of Derby, Margaret Romana Simpson (1837 - 1901), by whom he had five sons and one daughter. The connection granted Bemrose access to many works by Wright and fired a keen interest in the artist and his legacy. As chairman of the Derby Art Gallery Committee, he was instrumental in establishing a permanent collection of the artist’s work and organised the first retrospective exhibition devoted to Wright in 1883. In 1885 he published the first biography of the artist, titled 'The Life and Work of Joseph Wright, A.R.A., commonly called Wright of Derby.' In 1903, two years after death of his wife Margaret, Bemrose married Lilian, daughter of William John Gumming, M.R.C.S., of Matlock, and widow of Alderman William Hobson of Derby, proprietor of the 'Derbyshire Advertiser.' Bemrose, who was elected a F.S.A. in 1905, also played an active part in wider affairs of Derby. He was a member of the Derbyshire Archaeological Society, and vice-president of the Derby Sketching Club. A member of the Derby school board from 1879, he was its chairman from 1886 to 1902, and was a founder and for many years chairman of the Railway Servants' Orphanage. A pioneer of the volunteer movement, he retired as lieutenant in the 1st Derby volunteers in 1874 after seventeen years' service. He died at Bridlington, while on holiday, on 6 August 1908, and was buried at Derby. His second wife survived him. Bemrose’s varied collection was dispersed among his children who eventually donated items to Derby Museums, including many works on paper by Joseph Wright of Derby. (Much of this information comes from the DNB, 1912 Supplement (volume 1), entry on William Bemrose, by S. E. Fryer. Accessed at Wikisource.org, 2021).

  • Joseph Wright of Derby (Artist)

    Display Date: British, 1734 - 1797

    Nationality: British

    Biography: Artist.

  • Duc de Chabot (Association)

  • Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol (Association)

    Display Date: 1730 - 1803

    Nationality: British

    Biography: 4th Earl of Bristol; Bishop of Derry. Cleric; landowner; patron of the arts.

  • Mr Cooper (Association)

  • Mr Petty (Association)

Verso: A Letter from the Artist in Rome, with a View of the Castel Sant'Angelo and Saint Peter's during the Girandola

Date: 1774

Medium: Pencil, pen and ink on laid paper.

Object Type:Drawing
Dimensions:Support: 235 × 387 mm (9 1/4 × 15 1/4 in.)
Description:Nicolson noted that the drawing on the verso (DBYMU 1937-739/5B) was the basis for the oil sketch (as he described it) 'Firework Display at the Castel Sant'Angelo' in the collection of Birmingham Museums, which he believed Wright painted in Rome. He surmises that the letter and sketches were made before October 1774, as the letter mentions his forthcoming trip to Naples which he undertook in the autumn. Nicolson states that Wright intended to work up the verso sketch into a large drawing for a Derby collector, before transferring the design to canvas. He notes that this painting is untraced and states that, although the Birmingham oil painting was based on these sketches, it is unlikly to have been intended for his Derby friend, citing its small size and its companion piece, a view of Vesuvius, as reasons. [Nicolson, 1968, p.80.] Fraser notes that the purpose of the letter was 'to ensure his [the recipient's] approval of the composition'. This is an alternative reading of Egerton's interpretation of the recipient being an amateur artist, for whom the letter was to provide guidance for the production of their own painting of the scene. Fraser also points out that Wright began with a topographical observation of the view (presumably made in daylight as per the drawing on the recto), before superimposing the effects of light and smoke onto it, as detailed on the verso. [Fraser, 1987, p.10] Egerton notes that although the recipient is unknown, the letter reveals that they were to be an intermediary between Wright and the Bishop of Derry who was to commission a painting of Vesuvius. She also notes that it was someone for whom Wright was keen to convey thanks. Egerton surmises the recipient was an amateur artist who is to make their own painting of the Girandola. She suggests Rev Thomas Gisborne. Egerton also notes that it was Duncan Bull who identified the 'Duke of Chaboud' mentioned in the letter as the Duke of Chabot. Bull notes that the pictures do not appear to have survived (assuming they were ever carried out). [Egerton, 1990, p.147.] Ideas concerning the identity of the recipient include Thomas Coltman [suggested by Amina Wright (2014), p.69, note 5]. Wright would certainly have reason to be thankful to Coltman, as he had offered the artist a credit note for his Italian tour. Coltman however, does not fit the bill of an amateur artist (as suggested by Egerton).
Inscriptions:Inscribed in left hand column (handwritten in ink): 'The dots signifies the torches on the Church; before the Girandola began the reflection of the Dome was seen on the watter over the bridge being in shad'y but in the time of the Girandola it was scarce seen the water being so illumin'd if you choose to represent the Girandola at the finishing you may represent the Pesce which is thrown out at the same time, you cannot imagine how vex'd I am at my disappointment in regard to the prints you was so kind as send to Mr Cooper for me: Mr Petty the Gentleman who was to have brought them cald[sic] at Mr Coopers as I gave him this Direction but he writes that he has been at Mr Coopers who has chang'd his Lodgings and having not left notice with the neighbours where he has gone to so that he cannot find him and obligd[sic] to sett[sic] out without them. I am much surprisd[sic] at Mr Cooper as a man of bu[illegible, but may read 'business'] not to have left word where he was gone to lodge'. The drawing is annotated (handwritten in ink): 'Blackish and Transparent', 'Blueish smoke of the cannon', 'The local colour as much lost', and 'light'.
Provenance:...; with William Bemrose of Derby; by descent to his son, Herbert Cheney Bemrose; donated to Derby Museums by Florence May Lousada, the widow of Herbert Cheney Bemrose, in 1937.
Viewing Status:Contact Us
Item Ref:1937-739/5B
Browse Collection
Browse Collection