Painting of a landscape, showing the view from within a cavern looking out to a bridge and the sea beyond. Above the bridge, a full moon appears from a behind a bank of clouds. The silhouette of a figure can be seen crossing the bridge. Inscribed to recto, lower left: ' I.W.P. 1791'. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), 1791. Oil on canvas in gilded frame.
Painting of a landscape, showing the view from within a cavern looking out to a bridge and the sea beyond. Above the bridge, a full moon appears from a behind a bank of clouds. The silhouette of a figure can be seen crossing the bridge. Inscribed to recto, lower left: ' I.W.P. 1791'. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), 1791. Oil on canvas in gilded frame.
Painting of a landscape, showing the view from within a cavern looking out to a bridge and the sea beyond. Above the bridge, a full moon appears from a behind a bank of clouds. The silhouette of a figure can be seen crossing the bridge. Inscribed to recto, lower left: ' I.W.P. 1791'. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), 1791. Oil on canvas in gilded frame.
Painting of a landscape, showing the view from within a cavern looking out to a bridge and the sea beyond. Above the bridge, a full moon appears from a behind a bank of clouds. The silhouette of a figure can be seen crossing the bridge. Inscribed to recto, lower left: ' I.W.P. 1791'. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), 1791. Oil on canvas in gilded frame.
Painting of a landscape, showing the view from within a cavern looking out to a bridge and the sea beyond. Above the bridge, a full moon appears from a behind a bank of clouds. The silhouette of a figure can be seen crossing the bridge. Inscribed to recto, lower left: ' I.W.P. 1791'. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), 1791. Oil on canvas in gilded frame.

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 16/04/1883 to 16/04/1883
  • 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
    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: Landscape Exhibition
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 21/05/1994 to 26/06/1994
  • Title: Lumière, Transparence, Opacité
    Venue: Nouveau Musee National de Monaco
    Dates: from 27/09/2006 to 26/11/2006
  • Title: Der Mond/The Moon
    Venue: Wallraff-Richartz-Museum, Koln
    Dates: from 26/03/2009 to 16/08/2009
  • Title: The Moon, 'Houston, tranquility Base here, The Eagle has landed'
    Venue: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
    Dates: from 26/09/2009 to 16/01/2010
  • 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: 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

  • Joseph Wright of Derby (Artist)

    Display Date: British, 1734 - 1797

    Nationality: British

    Biography: Artist.

Bridge through a Cavern, Moonlight

Date: 1791

Medium: Oil on canvas.

Object Type:Painting
Dimensions:Frame: 743 × 929 mm (29 1/4 × 36 9/16 in.) Support: 635 × 812.8 mm (25 × 32 in.)
Description:Seventeen years after his trip to Italy, Joseph Wright continued to draw upon the scenes he witnessed on that journey. This painting is based upon studies he made in Naples in 1774. The mouth of the cavern provides a frame for the landscape, and a dramatic point of contrast for the glittering moonlit bridge and sea beyond.
Inscriptions:Inscribed on recto, to lower left: 'I.W.P. 1791'.
Provenance:Listed in Wright's Account Book as 'A Bridge seen thro' a Cavern on the coast of Sorente moonlight, To L. Philips, £31.10'; John Leigh Philips, Wright's friend and patron; sale of John Leigh Philips, Winstanley of Liverpool, Manchester, 31 October 1814 (lot 30, as 'A Cavern Scene with a Bridge'), wherepon purchased by 'E. Flack for H. & A. W' (the artist's eldest daughters) for £42; Harriet Wright and Mrs Anna Romana Cade (nee Wright); by descent through the Cade family; with Horatio Cade Simpson (Anna Romana Cade's grandson) by 1883; by descent to his son, Reverend Edward Lloyd Simpson, by 1910, by whom donated to Derby Museums in 1939.
Viewing Status:Contact Us
Item Ref:1939-859/2
Browse Collection
Browse Collection