Page 68 - Joseph Wright of Derby: Virgils's Tomb & The Grand Tour.
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© DERBY MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY sion without the figure of the poet (Fig. 33), noted
that ‘Mr.Wright of Derby, has with his usual Contrivance,
Fig. 33. JOSEPH WRIGHT,, Virgil’sTomb by Moonlight, 1782, oil on united Light to Light, and Shadow to Shadow, painted…a
canvas. Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derby. Moon-light atVirgil’sTomb….’36 However, the most de-
tailed description and praise appeared in the Morning
36. Public Advertiser, 2 May 1781, p. 2. Herald and Daily Advertiser, which stated that ‘The tal-
37. P. 3. Although Wright had friends who would write ‘puff’ pieces ents of this artist are chiefly of the imitative kind,and there-
fore we may deem him a mannerist by profession. He has for
on his behalf for the newspapers (see, for example, Barker, several seasons past,derived considerable credit from his rep-
‘Documents Relating to Joseph Wright ‘of Derby’(1734-1797),’ p. resentations of volcanoes, etc. but this year, descending from
116 n. 15), this particular reviewer went on to state that ‘Portrait his burning mountains, he has attempted subjects more
painting [Wright] should avoid as much as possible—it is not his forte.’ pleasing,though less tremendous!..TheView of Virgil’sTomb,
38. Catalogue of Pictures Painted by JosephWright, of Derby, London, is the best picture ever painted,discovering more true genius
1785, no. 5. than all his other works united.’37 The last time Wright
39. ‘Description of the Bay of Naples,’ pp. 133-137, esp. p. 136. exhibited publicly a version of his painting of Virgil’s
Tomb, possibly the present canvas, was at a one-man
show of twenty-five of his pictures at the Auction
House of Henry J. and George Henry Robins in
Covent Garden in April 1785.38 The landscape,
which was not for sale, attracted the attention of sev-
eral critics.Yet, by far the most interesting reference
was published in The Edinburgh Magazine or Literary
Miscellany, which linked the painting to the poem of
1741 cited at the opening of this essay.39 The writer
considered the picture to be the perfect complement
to the text, since they both ‘contain a fine contrast be-
tween the past and present state of Italy, and between the
sensations which this venerable ruin might be supposed to
inspire, and what it actually excites in the classic breast.’
Virgil’s tomb, noted the reviewer, ‘furnished a subject
to the Muses of both Painting and Poetry.’
T. BARTON THURBER
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