Known as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the industrial revolution" (Klingender) and also known for his fascination with the effects of light, Joseph Wright of Derby was an English artist who did landscape, genre and portrait painting. He is credited as being an artist of the Enlightenment because of his choice of subjects for his canvases. Many of his works reflected his interest in scientific experiments and depicted "figure groups in dark interiors illuminated by candles or lamps . . ." (Getty) This method of handling light showed the influence of Rembrandt van Rijn.

He was born in Derby to a family where the father was an attorney and the town clerk. Joseph left Derby in 1751 for London to p...