The National Gallery has announced a groundbreaking exhibition exploring the dramatic and mysterious nocturnal works of Joseph Wright of Derby, marking the first time these masterpieces have been united in over three decades. “Wright of Derby: From the Shadows,” opening in November 2025, will challenge conventional interpretations of one of Britain’s most intriguing 18th-century artists.
Moving beyond Wright’s traditional reputation as an Enlightenment painter, the exhibition will delve into his fascination with darkness, mortality, and the sublime. The showcase will feature over twenty works, including his famous ‘candlelight’ series created between 1765 and 1773, which depicts scientific demonstrations and artistic contemplation in dramatically lit settings.
Three major masterpieces will be reunited for the first time since 1988: “Three Persons Viewing the Gladiator by Candlelight” (1765), “A Philosopher giving that Lecture on the Orrery” (1766), and the National Gallery’s own “An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump” (1768). These paintings capture pivotal moments of scientific discovery and shared learning, rendered in Wright’s distinctive style that drew inspiration from Caravaggio’s dramatic chiaroscuro techniques.
“This exhibition reveals Wright as more than just a ‘painter of light,’” explains the Gallery. “His exploration of nighttime settings allowed him to engage with deeper themes of mortality, skepticism, and the sublime.” The paintings reflect a crucial period in British history when public interest in science and art was flourishing, and new venues for learning were emerging.
The exhibition will include supporting materials such as mezzotint prints, which played a crucial role in establishing Wright’s international reputation, and historical objects that contextualize the scientific and artistic developments of his time. Seventeen artworks will come from Derby Museums, which holds the world’s largest collection of Wright’s work.
Following its London showing, the exhibition will travel to Derby Museum and Art Gallery in 2026, marking the first time in 80 years that “The Air Pump” and “The Orrery” will return to Wright’s hometown.
The exhibition, supported by the Bernard Sunley Foundation, will run until May 2026, offering visitors a unique opportunity to explore these atmospheric masterpieces and the fascinating period of British history they represent.
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