was included in a painting of the 1839 exhibition by Samuel Rayner. Many of the paintings in Rayner's painting are thought to have come from the collection of Joseph Strutt. Many of the other artefacts in Rayner's painting are thought to have joined the early collection of Derby Museums, but this painting took many years before it rejoined Derby Museum's collection. As a result of Wright's argument with Boydell the painting was rejected and stayed in Wright's possession. It was at Christie's in 1801 and in Derby for sale in 1810, but it failed to find a buyer. It was bought from Wright's executors and it was in the Oakes family from 1883 until it was purchased for Derby Museums for £33,250 in 1981. Description The painting is 70 inches high and 95 wide and shows Wright's famed skill with nocturnal and candlelit scenes. It depicts the moment in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at which Juliet, kneeling beside Romeo's body, hears a footstep and draws Romeo's dagger. Juliet's line is "Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger!" and is said just before Juliet kills herself In addition to this painting, Derby Museum also own a preparatory sketch by Wright. On the sketch he proposes the change he made to the painting where he moved the sarcophagus and its niche to the right. Wright was trying to increase the size of the image of the illuminated wall. The gladiatorial figure of Juliet with her outstretched arms attracts the eye and the heroic death of Romeo have been compared to Michelangelo's drawing of Tityus. References Paintings by Joseph Wright of Derby 1790 paintings Collections of Derby Museum and Art Gallery Works based on Romeo and Juliet Paintings based on works by William Shakespeare Paintings about suicide