Light, science and the sublime: The art and world of Joseph Wright 'of Derby'

• Tuesday, 10 February 2026

• Tuesday, 17 February 2026

• Tuesday, 24 February 2026

3.30 - 5.30 pm GMT

Online

About

Uncover how Joseph Wright ‘of Derby’ united science, emotion and the drama of light in this three-week course exploring his technical mastery and the spirit of enquiry that shaped his art.

Few artists captured the spirit of their age as vividly as Joseph Wright ‘of Derby’. His paintings reflect a world in transition, between the faith in science and industry that defined the Enlightenment, and the fascination with the sublime and emotion of Romanticism.

In this three-week course, we’ll explore how Wright’s art embodies this tension. We’ll also consider how Wright’s technical mastery of light and tenebrism drew on the legacy of Caravaggio and Honthorst and how Wright’s portraits, experiments and landscapes turned the pursuit of knowledge into a profound meditation on human experience.

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