Portrait of a gentleman in a red fur-trimmed coat, frogged waistcoat and a white turban

Joseph Wright of Derby’s pioneering investigations into the depiction of light in the 1760s helped to establish his reputation as one of the most innovative artists of his generation. This portrait, painted towards the end of the same decade, shows evidence of these experiments in chiaroscuro; a concentrated, unidentified source of light illuminates the sitter’s contemplative expression, strong features and fanciful costume. The light catches the gold thread in the scarf wrapped around the sitter’s head and picks out the embroidered frogging on his blue waistcoat and buttonhole attached to the fur trim of his red jacket. His dress vaguely resembles a ‘Hussars’ uniform, which was fashionable during the late 1760s and early 1770s. Presumably his costume was not intended to be militarily accurate but instead decorative and whimsical, characteristic of Wright, who painted several self-portraits wearing similar headpieces (see for instance, the self-portraits in the National Gallery of Art, Victoria, and Derby Museums).

The unknown sitter has previously been identified as author and political campaigner Thomas Day, who Wright painted twice during his career. The painting also appears to relate to the full-length Portrait of a Man, Known as the ‘Indian Captain’ (Yale Center for British Art), and although it is unlikely the two paintings depict the same sitter, there are evident similarities in the fanciful costume, romantic atmosphere and contemplative expression.

We are grateful to Martin Postle for confirming the attribution on the basis of first-hand inspection.