Joseph Wright of Derby, 1734–1797, British, active in Italy (1773–75)
Title:
Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus
Date:
1779
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
40 1/16 x 50 1/4 inches (101.8 x 127.6 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1973.1.68
Gallery Label:
Wright painted many versions of this composition, one of his most popular subjects. It represents Silius Italicus, a Roman consul under the Emperor Nero who devoted his later life to the study of literature. His passionate admiration for Vergil led him to buy the poet's estate and tomb at Posillipo, near Naples. Each year he recited Vergil’s poetry inside the tomb on the anniversary of the poet’s death. Wright shows him inside the tomb by candlelight, declaiming Vergil's verses aloud as though trying to raise his spirit. Gallery label for Love, Life, Death, and Desire: An Installation of the Center's Collections (Yale Center for British Art, 2020-11-01 – 2021-02-28)
