Le Bouche-terrier sur les rives de la Derwent

Wright lived in Derby among the manufacturers and natural philosophers of the early industrial Midlands, and he was fascinated by artificial light long before most painters bothered with it. Here he takes that interest outdoors. It is night on the banks of the River Derwent, and a man kneels with a lantern, digging. His job is to block up the foxholes before dawn so that the next day's hunt can corner the fox in the open. Wright sets the warm glow of the lamp against the cool light of the moon breaking through the clouds, and lets the river run dark behind. He painted it in 1773. The lamp lighting an ordinary working man at his task is the same kind of light Wright gave to his famous scenes of scientific experiment.