The Captive (painting)
Encyclopedia
The Captive, from Sterne is a painting by Joseph Wright of Derby
completed in 1774 and now in the Vancouver Art Gallery
. Sterne's Captive, first exhibited by the artist in 1778, is a similar painting by Wright in the Derby Museum and Art Gallery
. The latter painting resulted in a very rare engraving, as its purchaser commissioned a print run of only 20 copies before the copper printing plate was destroyed.
's A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy
(1768). In the episode in question, the hero of the story, Yorick, imagines that he is imprisoned in the Bastille
because he has lost his passport. Yorick is later released because his name is taken to indicate that he is an important person, because he is a court jester: Yorick
is a jester in Shakespeare's play Hamlet
. The journey takes place in 1762, when Britain was at war with France
, and imprisonment was a real possibility for a traveller from a hostile country.
records that he nearly imported it free of tax but a late objection obliged him to pay import tax. The debate focused on whether the sitter was Roman and it was argued that the sitter should have been better dressed.
The first painting was made into a stipple engraving by Thomas Ryder in 1779 and it was published by John
and Josiah Boydell
in 1786. However an earlier mezzotint engraving
by John Raphael Smith
of the later 1778 painting had been commissioned by John Milnes after he bought the painting at a Royal Academy
show. Milnes obtained a print of every Wright painting that he could, but the print that he commissioned of his own painting was limited to just twenty copies before the plate was destroyed. This engraving is now exceptionally rare and is only available in a small number of British institutions and none abroad.
Joseph Wright of Derby
Joseph Wright , styled Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution"....
completed in 1774 and now in the Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver Art Gallery
The Vancouver Art Gallery is the fifth-largest art gallery in Canada and the largest in Western Canada. It is located at 750 Hornby Street in Vancouver, British Columbia...
. Sterne's Captive, first exhibited by the artist in 1778, is a similar painting by Wright in the Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collection includes a whole gallery displaying the paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby; there is also a large...
. The latter painting resulted in a very rare engraving, as its purchaser commissioned a print run of only 20 copies before the copper printing plate was destroyed.
Description
Both paintings shows the despair of a traveller who finds himself abandoned in a foreign jail. The Captive title is based on the section of the same name in Laurence SterneLaurence Sterne
Laurence Sterne was an Irish novelist and an Anglican clergyman. He is best known for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy; but he also published many sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics...
's A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy is a novel by the Irish-born English author Laurence Sterne, written and first published in 1768, as Sterne was facing death. In 1765, Sterne travelled through France and Italy as far south as Naples, and after returning determined to describe his...
(1768). In the episode in question, the hero of the story, Yorick, imagines that he is imprisoned in the Bastille
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to the city of...
because he has lost his passport. Yorick is later released because his name is taken to indicate that he is an important person, because he is a court jester: Yorick
Yorick
Yorick is the deceased court jester whose skull is exhumed by the gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, of William Shakespeare's Hamlet.Yorick may also refer to:* Yorick...
is a jester in Shakespeare's play Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. The journey takes place in 1762, when Britain was at war with France
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, and imprisonment was a real possibility for a traveller from a hostile country.
History
The first painting (1774) was made by Wright while in Rome. After its completion he had to import it back into Britain; Llewellyn JewittLlewellyn Jewitt
Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt was a noted illustrator, engraver, natural scientist and author of The Ceramic Art of Great Britain...
records that he nearly imported it free of tax but a late objection obliged him to pay import tax. The debate focused on whether the sitter was Roman and it was argued that the sitter should have been better dressed.
The first painting was made into a stipple engraving by Thomas Ryder in 1779 and it was published by John
John Boydell
John Boydell was an 18th-century British publisher noted for his reproductions of engravings. He helped alter the trade imbalance between Britain and France in engravings and initiated a British tradition in the art form...
and Josiah Boydell
Josiah Boydell
Josiah Boydell was a British publisher and painter, whose main achievement was the establishment of the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery with his uncle, John Boydell.-Biography:...
in 1786. However an earlier mezzotint engraving
Mezzotint
Mezzotint is a printmaking process of the intaglio family, technically a drypoint method. It was the first tonal method to be used, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple...
by John Raphael Smith
John Raphael Smith
John Raphael Smith was an English painter and mezzotint engraver, son of Thomas Smith of Derby, the landscape painter, and father of John Rubens Smith, a painter who emigrated to the United States.-Biography:...
of the later 1778 painting had been commissioned by John Milnes after he bought the painting at a Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
show. Milnes obtained a print of every Wright painting that he could, but the print that he commissioned of his own painting was limited to just twenty copies before the plate was destroyed. This engraving is now exceptionally rare and is only available in a small number of British institutions and none abroad.