18th

century

Oil on canvas

English

Portrait of Joseph Wright of Derby (1734 - 1797) with Vesuvius in the background

Hurleston, Richard (fl.1763-80)

This portrait of the artist Wright of Derby is closely related to Wright’s own self-portraits of approximately the same time, where he shows himself in some form of exotic dress. Here he wears an oriental-style turban which was fashionable all over Europe at the time. In Wright’s Self-portrait, in charcoal and white chalk, in the Museum and Art Gallery, Derby, he has used elaborate feathers and appears slightly younger. The Derby drawing is generally dated c1767-1770 and, as he appears younger in it, the painting by Hurleston is likely to be later, most probably done in Italy, as Vesuvius appears in the background.

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Schorr Collection, UK / © The Schorr Collection / Bridgeman Images

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