???he Blacksmith's Shop?? painted in 1771, is the work of the English painter Joseph Wright of Derby (1734 -1797), who made a series of paintings of scientific and industrial subjects at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century. Wright had close contact with the pioneering industrialists of the Midlands, including the pottery manufacturer Josiah Wedgewood and Richard Arkwright of the cotton industry. As a result of his association with members of the Lunar Society, which brought together leading industrialists, scientists, and philosophers, some of his paintings are of, or were inspired by Lunar Society meetings. These nocturnal scenes were characterised by their dramatic illumination known as ???andlelight chiaroscuro??