''Miravan Breaking Open the Tomb of his Ancestors'' is a painting by

Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph 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". Wr ...

originally completed in 1772 .

Description

The painting was titled ''Miravan Breaking Open the Tomb of his Ancestors'' and it shows a Persian nobleman, Miravan, who has discovered one of his ancestor's tombs. Driven by greed he orders that the tomb be broken open after he sees that the tomb's inscription claims that a "greater treasure than

Croesus Croesus ( ; Lydian: ; Phrygian: ; grc, Κροισος, Kroisos; Latin: ; reigned: c. 585 – c. 546 BC) was the king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. Croesus was ...

ever possessed" is within. The painting shows the revulsion of Miravan and his anguish when he realises that he has been tricked. His ancestor says that Miravan will not enjoy eternal repose as he has disturbed one of his progenitors. The story of Miravan as explained by Joseph Wright comes from

John Gilbert Cooper John Gilbert Cooper or John Gilbert (24 August 1722 – 21 April 1769) was a British poet and writer. Biography John Gilbert was born in Lockington, Leicestershire. His father was left a legacy which included Thurgarton Priory which he was allow ...

's ''Letters Concerning Taste'' which was published in 1755. Though Cooper claims that the story is Persian, no original source is known. Joseph Wright was known for his studies under unusual lighting; this painting combines this characteristic with a style that has been called Neo-Gothic which Wright also used in his painting '' A Philosopher by Lamplight'', also known as ''

Democritus Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. No ...

studying anatomy''. These two paintings also show the artist's familiarity with human anatomy.

History

The painting was engraved in 1772 by

Valentine Green Valentine Green (3 October 173929 July 1813) was a British mezzotinter and print publisher. Green trained under Robert Hancock, a Worcester engraver, after which he moved to London and began working as a mezzotint engraver. He began to exhibit ...

and like many of Wright's paintings its strong dark and light areas made it ideal for a

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonali ...

. In this case the view is lit by a single oil light supplemented by moonlight. The painting was bought in Wright's lifetime by Mr Milne (who may have been from Wakefield).Joseph Wright of Derby
Benedict Nicholson, vol 1, p107, 1968, accessed May 2011 It came into the possession of

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It 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 collect ...

in 1935 after being acquired from private ownership thanks to UK National funding.

References

{{Derby Museum, state=expanded Paintings by Joseph Wright of Derby 1770s paintings