Dead Soldier, Joseph Wright

Formal Analysis Paper by Helen Yang

Artist: Joseph Wright (Wright of Derby)

Title of work: The Dead Soldier

Date: 1789

Material: Oil on Canvas

Thesis: In The Dead Soldier (1789), the artist Joseph Wright used value contrast, color contrast of red against green and thematic contrast to draw the viewers attention to the focal point of the dead soldier’s family in the foreground and to lead the viewers eyes to the harsh reality of the battle field in the background.

Visual Analysis: Wright used complementary colors of red against green to lead the viewers eyes through the painting. In the foreground the dead soldier’s coat has the most saturated shade of red color in the whole painting. This intense primary red color is set against split-complimentary green colors of the cobalt turquoise (cool green) dress worn by the widow and the olive green (warm green) army tent. The intense color contrast draws the viewers eyes to the focal point of the painting. In the middle ground we see the red wheel of the cannon, surrounded by the grass green ground and the distance trees, is still intact. However, the oval shape created by the arms and hands of the young family is forever broken due to the death of the soldier. The cannon is pointing to the battle scene in the background where more red dots of soldier raging in the battle towards the gunfires-lit red sky. 

Wright used three lighting sources in this painting to create thematic contrast. The foreground is lid by a strong spot light on the family of three creating a dramatic and heart-wrenching scene. Behind the figures, there is an army cloth hang on the trees framing the family and giving the scene a theatric feeling. Behind the cloth there are trees in a naturalistic setting. The trees are lid by moon light giving the setting a more eerie feel with a sense for uncertainty. A third light is the gunfire in the distance that illuminated the distance sky. It brings the viewers to the brutal reality of a battle scene where more soldiers are wounded or dead. 

Wright created an intensely emotional scene of a young family that has forever been torn apart in the highly emotional painting titled “The Dead Soldier.” 

Historical Significance:

In the Eighteenth century England there was no veteran hospital and not many job prospects for a woman to make a living for herself and her family. The baby is gazing straight at us enlisting our sympathy. 

This painting is inspired by lines from the poem, “Country Justice” by John Langhorne:

Perhaps that parent mourn’d her soldier slain;

Bent over her babe, her eye dissolved in dew,

The big drops mingling with the milk he drew, 

Gave the sad presage of his future years,

The child of misery, baptiz’d in tears.

Langhorne’s poem is about homeless people and Wright’s painting is about urging society to provide better treatment for soldiers’ surviving family members. Both of these issues are still very relevant in today’s world.

Conclusion:

Wright used various hues of red to create a diagonal line across the canvas linking the family’s tragedy to the brutality of war. The painting is created in the age of enlightenment and industrial revolution. How a widowed and her young infant would have struggled during that time? What social changes have been inspired by Wright’s painting “The Dead Soldier?” What can we learn from history to provide better social welfare in our society today? These are some of the questions inspired by Wright’s painting “The Dead Soldier” and require further research.  

References:

1. Steven A. Nash, Lynn Federie Orr, Marion C. Steward, Masterworks of European Paintings in the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, 1999; pg. 115.

2. University of Michigan Museum of Art https://umma.umich.edu/archive/collections/ acquisitions/wright.html

3. Nigel Llewellyn, Art of Death: Visual Culture in the English Death Ritual C.1500 - C.1800, Reaction Books Ltd. London, 1991. Pg. 31.

Additional References:

1. Charlotte Read, 18th Century British Art: Connections and Context, Fine Art Museum of San Francisco, https://vimeo.com/user21511306/review/266808854/dec7f1810e April 26, 2018.

2. University of Michigan Museum of Art https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2006- sl-1.156/2006_1.156___jpg

3. British Museum http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/ collection_object_details.aspx? objectId=3161626&partId=1&people=92620&peoA=92620-3-18&page=1