Title: 10th Exhibition of the Society of Artists
Venue: The Great Room, Spring Gardens
Dates: from 01/05/1769 to
Title: Salvator Rosa
Venue: Haywood Gallery
Dates: from 17/10/1973 to 23/12/1973
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 of Derby
Venue: Tate Gallery
Dates: from 16/04/1990 to 16/04/1990
Title: Gothic Nightmares
Venue: Tate Britain
Dates: from 15/02/2006 to 01/05/2006
Title: Joseph Wright of Derby in Liverpool
Venue: Walker Art Gallery
Dates: from 17/11/2007 to 24/02/2008
Title: Extraordinary Portraits of Ordinary People: Paintings by Emma Tooth and Joseph Wright
Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Dates: from 03/07/2010 to 12/09/2010
Title: Wright of Derby: From the Shadows
Venue: National Gallery
Dates: from 07/11/2025 to 01/11/2026
Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings Arranged by the Arts Council
Venue: Walker Art Gallery
Dates: from 16/04/2026 to

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 (1734-1797) and Natural Philosophy: A New Perspective on his Artistic Intentions
Volume: XVIII
Published Place: London
Published Year: 2017

Joseph Wright of Derby (Artist)
Display Date: British, 1734 - 1797
Nationality: British
Biography: Artist.

A Philosopher by Lamplight (or An Hermit)

Date: exhibited 1769

Medium: Oil on canvas.

Object Type:	Painting
Dimensions:	Frame: 1499 × 1245 × 76 mm (59 × 49 × 3 in.) Support: 1282 × 1016 mm (50 1/2 × 40 in.)
Description:	In a lamp-lit cave surrounded by bones and an hourglass, a philosopher sits deep in thought. Behind him two pilgrims, identified by the cockleshells on their hats, proceed carefully. Joseph Wright referred to this painting by a number of titles, including 'The Hermit' and 'Democritus in Meditation'; a nod to artist Salvator Rosa’s painting of Democritus of about 1650 – 51 , on which Wright based this scene. Democritus was an ancient Greek philosopher who travelled widely and lived simply devoting himself to the study of nature. Themes related to nature, its study and meaning, can be found throughout Wright's work, reflecting a sense of his personal interests and those of his friends and Enlightenment society more widely.
Inscriptions:	'I Wright Pinxt' recto, lower left.
Provenance:	Listed in Wright’s Account Book as ‘The Hermit £105’; remained unsold during Wright's lifetime; offered at Wright’s posthumous sale, Christie’s 6 May 1801 (lot 63, as ‘The Hermit’), whereupon purchased by Thomas Borrow (later Borough) of Derby and Chetwynd Park, Salop from 1803; by descent to Colonel John G. Burton Borough of Chetwynd Park, Salop; by whom bequeathed to Derby Museums in 1961.
Viewing Status:	Contact Us
Item Ref:	1961-508/1