Wright of Derby: From the Shadows

Wright of Derby: From the Shadows opens at Derby Museum & Art Gallery on Tuesday 27 October and runs until 1 November. It's the first major exhibition to focus on Joseph Wright of Derby's 'candlelight' paintings, those scenes where light and dark play off one another to bring a room to life. The images usually show faces gathered around something — classical sculptures, scientific instruments, bones, bladders, animals — with the light catching the expressions of the people watching.

That strong light and deep shadow is what gets compared to Caravaggio, and the exhibition pushes back on the idea of Wright as just a 'painter of light'. It looks at how he used the night to get at darker ground: death, melancholy, morality, scepticism and the sublime. It's less about the glow and more about what's hiding in the shadows.

There are over twenty works on display, including paintings, mezzotints, works on paper and objects. Seventeen of those come from the museum's own collection, which is the largest of his work in the world. The show is part of The Year of Wright, a year-long celebration of the life and art of Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), one of Britain's most original and visionary painters. He kept his studio here in Derby, a city often called the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.

Entry is free, though there's a 'give what you think' option if you want to contribute. You'll find it at Derby Museum & Art Gallery, The Strand, Derby DE1 1BS, from 27 October to 1 November.