An Academy by Lamplight

An Academy by Lamplight is a 1769 genre painting by the British artist Joseph Wright of Derby. It features a view of an art academy where a group of students are gathered round an Ancient Roman statue based on a Borghese Nymph with a Shell, studying of sketching. Lit by candlelight, it features the Tenebrism style that Wright used in a number of his paintings from the period. The lifelike statue in the shadows evokes the Pygmalion myth.
Wright of Derby displayed the work at the Exhibition of 1769 held by the Society of Artists in London's Spring Gardens. Today it is in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art in Connecticut. A mezzotint based on the painting was produced un 1772 by William Pether.