{"title":"Wilkie RA, Sir David (1785–1841)","description":"\u003cp\u003eSir David Wilkie (1785–1841) was born in Fife, the son of a rural minister. He studied at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh then entered the Royal Academy schools in London in 1805, exhibited there from 1806, and was elected a royal academician in 1811. He found great success as a genre painter, influenced by the Dutch genre painters, specialising in narrative detail and shrewd observation of character.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBetween 1825 and 1828 he visited Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain—where he was particularly taken with the work of Velázquez and Murillo. Wilkie thereafter developed a much broader and bolder style and a stronger use of colour. His subjects moved away from the humble scenes of the genre painter to grander scenes from history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilkie famously died at sea off Gibraltar after falling ill en route to Britain. His body was consigned to the deep in the Bay of Gibraltar and his death was commemorated by the Turner in the oil painting 'Peace—Burial at Sea'.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"attrib-sir-david-wilkie-ra-stirling-castleearly-19th-century-graphite-drawing-js-016","title":"Attrib. Sir David Wilkie RA, Stirling Castle–Early 19th-century graphite drawing","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original early 19th-century graphite drawing, Attrib. Sir David Wilkie RA, Stirling Castle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn intriguing sketch attributed to Sir David Wilkie (1785–1841) showing the distinctive skyline of Stirling Castle atop Castle Hill. Surrounded on three sides by the steep cliffs of the Stirling Sill geological formation, the castle has a strong defensive position and is one of the most important castles in Scotland. There is a further graphite sketch on the verso which shows the castle at closer range, with the Stirling Old Bridge in the foreground.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSir David Wilkie was a superb draughtsman and he produced numerous sketches and studies in a range of media, from highly finished coloured drawings to rapid pencil sketches and studies in pen and ink.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilkie's Journals and Letters record his travels around Scotland and his interaction with the landscape: 'Wherever Wilkie went he looked about him with an artist's eye, and felt with a Scotsman's heart'. In 1817 he writes to his sister from Blair Athol: 'At Stirling I arrived too late for the Perth coach, but at such a place it was no hard matter to find amusement. I went up to the Castle, and, after seeing every thing that is commonly shown to strangers, I began making some drawings of the Palace and Parliament House, which have been very fine buildings.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilkie ends up unexpectedly staying in Stirling for three days after gaining acquaintance with the Governor of Stirling Castle, General Graham. He did not, however, translate any of his drawings of this area—described in his journals as 'the palaces and castles of old Caledonia'—into any fully worked up colour compositions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter visiting Stirling, Wilkie goes on to the Borders, where he lodges with Sir Walter Scott—with whom he was to become great friends—and finds 'I have never been in any place where there is so much real good-humour and merriment'.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProvenance: From the Collection of Dr E.M. Brett of Hampstead.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52013131039049,"sku":"JS-016","price":168.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/js-016_5.jpg?v=1743434667"},{"product_id":"after-sir-david-wilkie-ra-hebrew-women-reading-the-scriptures-1844-lithograph-ka-382","title":"After Sir David Wilkie RA, Hebrew Women Reading the Scriptures – 1844 lithograph","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original 1844 lithograph print, After Sir David Wilkie RA, Hebrew Women Reading the Scriptures at Jerusalem.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn interesting lithograph by Joseph Nash after Sir David Wilkie's series of Sketches in Turkey, Syria \u0026amp; Egypt, 1840 \u0026amp; 1841. The print was 'Presented with the Art Union Monthly Journal January 1844' and is described as 'Specimen Print of Sir David Wilkie's Oriental Sketches. \/ Published by Henry Graves \u0026amp; Co, Pall Mall'.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52020378141001,"sku":"KA-382","price":44.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/ka-382.jpg?v=1743514216"}],"url":"https:\/\/somersetandwood.com\/fr\/collections\/wilkie-ra-sir-david-1785-1841.oembed","provider":"Somerset \u0026 Wood Fine Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}