The Captive, from Sterne Joseph Wright, c1775-77

Wright often used literary sources as the starting point for his paintings. The Captive is based on a passage in Laurence Sterne’s novel A Sentimental Journey (1768) in which the narrator, Yorick, is prompted by the sight of a caged bird to reflect on the ‘miseries of confinement’.
Two versions of this picture exist; the first made in Rome and this one which was probably completed shortly after Wright’s return to Derby. The main difference between the two is the posture and positioning of the captive. The figure here is based on Michelangelo’s Adam, which Wright copied lying on his back in the Sistine Chapel.

Apollo Derby China Works c1753-5

Apollo, brother of Diana and son of Jupiter and Leto, was patron of the Arts. He stands here amongst emblems which include books of verse, musical scores and an artist’s palette.

Augmentation

Joseph Wright suffered throughout his career from increasingly debilitating bouts of melancholia, or as we now term it depression. His stay in Rome culminated in a long period of inactivity. The creative fecundity of the youthful Apollo is in contrast to the despondent expression of the captive. According to one contemporary reviewer, despite his circumstances, the captive’s body remains ‘lusty’.
Wright’s images of chambers of claustrophobia, where creativity is suspended, seem to accord with his own experience of melancholia. The languid eroticism of the captive’s body is given focus here by the appearance of the beautiful young Apollo, who had taken the Spartan prince Hyacinthus as his lover.