The Gulf of Salerno
Joseph Wright of Derby·1783–85
Historical Context
Wright of Derby's Gulf of Salerno, painted in 1783-85, depicts the spectacular bay in southern Italy that the artist visited during his Italian journey of 1773-1775. Wright was deeply affected by the dramatic natural phenomena he witnessed in Italy, and he continued to paint Italian subjects for years after his return to England. The Gulf of Salerno offered a combination of dramatic coastline, volcanic geology, and atmospheric effects that perfectly suited his temperament.
Technical Analysis
Wright's oil-on-canvas technique captures the specific quality of Italian coastal light with his characteristic precision. The warm, hazy atmosphere of the Mediterranean is rendered through careful gradations of tone, while the dramatic coastline provides the strong compositional structure Wright favored.
Provenance
Probably John Holland, Ford Hall, Derbyshire [a "Sun Set in the Bay of Salerno" listed in Wright's Account Book about 1783 as the companion to Bacon's Moonlight Vesuvius and "sold to my friend Holland"; see Judy Egerton, Wright of Derby, exhib. cat. Tate Gallery, Louvre, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1990, p. 180, under no. 109]. Private collection, England, by family descent to a collector in New York, c. 1992 [information kindly supplied by Piers Davies, Christie’s]; sold Christie's, New York, 24 January, 2003, no. 140 to Simon Dickinson, London; sold to the Art Institute.
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