An Academy by Lamplight

Joseph Wright (Wright of Derby)|William Pether|William Pether

February 20, 1772 · Mezzotint; second state of two · Drawings and Prints

In a stone chamber containing the "Nymph with a Shell and Borghese Gladiator," six fancifully dressed young artists have assembled to sketch by lamp-light. The virtuoso realism—exemplified by the chipped stone plinth—belies the scene's mysterious, romantic mood. Pether's exquisite mezzotint, based on a painting by Wright, displays subtle tonal range, with deep shadows warmed by the brownish hue of the ink. Against a range of velvety darks, highlights—such as the protruding sheet beneath the foremost draftsman's sketch—appear almost to glow.

Artist

Joseph Wright (Wright of Derby)|William Pether|William Pether

Date

February 20, 1772

Medium

Mezzotint; second state of two

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953