Framed oil painting: The Dead Soldier by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797), c.1789
Key information
Museum number
A340
Object
Framed oil painting: The Dead Soldier by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797), c.1789
Gallery label
The Dead Soldier
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797)
Oil on canvas, about 1789
Joseph Wright worked in Bath from 1775 to 1777. Later in his career, he chose touching subjects from contemporary literature. The Dead Soldier was one of the most successful of these, and there are several versions: this one may be by a follower of the artist.
A mother grieves over her dead husband and her future poverty. Her baby’s pink hand clutches the corpse’s white one, while his eyes gaze out pitifully at the viewer. Meanwhile, the battle rages on, glimpsed through foliage.
A340 Presented in memory of Dr J Maurice Harper, 1939
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797)
Oil on canvas, about 1789
Joseph Wright worked in Bath from 1775 to 1777. Later in his career, he chose touching subjects from contemporary literature. The Dead Soldier was one of the most successful of these, and there are several versions: this one may be by a follower of the artist.
A mother grieves over her dead husband and her future poverty. Her baby’s pink hand clutches the corpse’s white one, while his eyes gaze out pitifully at the viewer. Meanwhile, the battle rages on, glimpsed through foliage.
A340 Presented in memory of Dr J Maurice Harper, 1939
On display?
Yes
