|
Date: |
|
Description: | This portrait of a gentleman was painted by one of the most famous Scottish artists, Henry Raeburn. His work was often compared to his celebrated English contemporaries and he was dubbed `The Scottish Reynolds' or `The Scottish Lawrence'. Despite the fact that Raeburn never undertook any formal training, he dominated the artistic scene of Scotland for almost thirty years during the 18th century. He painted more than one thousand portraits of society figures. This gentleman is identified as William Fairlie, but little is known about him. It is possible that he was the baronet William Cuningham-Fairlie, son of William Cuningham of Robertland and Margaret Fairlie of Ayrshire. However, the social standing of the sitter was not important to Raeburn, who valued instead his subject's nature and character. In this painting, much effort has been concentrated on the face of the gentleman to express his tranquility and thoughtfulness. This is typical of a portrait by Raeburn, who saw portraiture primarily as an exploration of humanity and a form of enquiry into both soul and heart.
Henry Raeburn is one of the most famous Scottish portrait painters. He was called 'The Scottish Lawrence' or 'The Scottish Reynolds' in comparison with the celebrated English contemporary artists Thomas Lawrence and Sir Joshua Reynolds. A son of a poor wool boiler, Henry Raeburn was orphaned at age of seven and was brought up by his elder brother. He was educated at Heriot's Hospital, then apprenticed to a local goldsmith. He spent three years in Italy, and settled in Edinburgh as portrait painter in 1786. In spite of the fact that he never was formally trained, he dominated the artistic scene in Scotland for nearly thirty years. He painted more than 1000 portraits of his famous and less known contemporaries, mostly from Scottish society. Raeburn saw portraiture as an exploration of a human being, a form of philosophical enquiry into both form and character. His famous English contemporary, the artist Thomas Lawrence called one of Raeburn's portraits "the finest representation of a human being that he had ever seen." He never moved to London but regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy. In 1815 he became a Royal Academician, and in 1822 he was knighted by King George IV. The 'Portrait of a Gentleman from Fairlie' looks unfinished in many areas. The way of leaving out the details allowed the artist to concentrate on the face of the gentleman and to express his tranquility and thoughtfulness. His steady, slightly quizzical gaze is fully conveyed. The name Fairlie rose around Edinburgh, and also appeared in the 13th century in North Ayrshire, where the small fishing village of Fairlie still exists. Not much is known about the sitter. He might be William Cunningham-Fairlie, 6th Baronet, a son of William Cunningham or Robertland, and Margaret Fairlie or Fairlie, Ayrshire. He probably succeeded to the Fairlie estate after his mother, and assumed the additional surname. He is shown here in his fifties.
Oil painting portrait of a Georgian gentleman. He is seated on a red chair. He is wearing a white shirt, yellow silk waistcoat and brown jacket. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/ | Publisher: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Subjects: | Chairs Portrait painting Fine arts Men Oil painting Oil Paintings Georgian period Scotland People and roles Paintings Portraits People British portraits Art collections | Temporal: | 1770 - 1823
Georgian (1714-1837) | Source: | Black Country History | Creator: | RAEBURN; Henry (1756 - 1823); Sir | Identifier: | http://www.blackcountryhistory.org/colle... | Go to resource |
|
|