The Captive (from Laurence Sterne's 'A Sentimental Journey')

This 1776 painting of The Captive from Sterne's A Sentimental Journey depicts the imprisoned man whom Yorick encounters in the Bastille. The subject was popular among British artists of the late 18th century who were drawn to Sterne's exploration of sensibility and compassion. Wright mastered oil on canvas chiaroscuro effects inspired by Dutch nocturnal painters and Caravaggio, creating scenes lit by single artificial sources—candles, furnaces, molten metal—that gave his subjects a dramatic,...

Wright's treatment of the captive employs his signature chiaroscuro, with a single light source illuminating the prisoner in his cell to create an image of pathos and isolation.