Art, Sir Henry Raeburn, portraits,

Sir Henry Raeburn;

Scotlands greatest portrait painter,
March 1756 – 8 July 1823)

He was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, a former village now within the city of Edinburgh.
Orphaned, he was supported by his older brother and placed in Heriot's Hospital, where he received an education. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to a goldsmith, and various pieces of jewellery, mourning rings and the like, adorned with minute drawings on ivory by his hand, still exist.
 Soon he took to the production of carefully finished portrait miniatures; meeting with success and patronage, he extended his practice to oil painting, at which he was self-taught.
The goldsmith watched the progress of his pupil with interest, and introduced him to David Martin, who had been the favourite assistant of Allan Ramsay the Latter, and was now the leading portrait painter in Edinburgh. Raeburn was especially aided by the loan of portraits to copy.
Soon he had gained sufficient skill to make him decide to devote himself exclusively to painting.
Read more here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Raeburn

delete reply initiativestain wrote on Mar 27, '10 Very interesting stuff. Thanks much!

delete reply rooanns wrote on Mar 14, '10 Very Cool Thanks!

delete reply philsgal7759 wrote on Mar 14, '10 Love them thanks

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 14, '10 nemo4sun said one thought that occurred to me while i looked them over think you are right Nemo, I think Raeburnn always uses quite a limited pallett and limits his colours, but I think the overall effedt is stunning, he was one of the greatest portrait painters ever.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Mar 14, '10 I love portraits like these. They're so much better than photos.

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on Mar 14, '10 wonderful post thank you

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Mar 14, '10 these are truly wonderfull one thought that occurred to me while i looked them over i notice that the sky and backgrounds always seem to match the clothing style of the day looking at work from different time periods bright and colorful clothing styles has bright sunny skies darker clothing styles have a more sober sky i wonder if it is matching the background to the clothes or since the painter has those colors mixed or just an influence of the painting style of the time :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 14, '10 Yep.............Neil Gow was a folk hero, from humble beginings to the greatest fiddle player Scotland has ever seen. He played at society weddings and at the penny weddings of the village folk. One of the first people to truly cross the class divide and be equally at home with the rich and the poor. Well done you for finding this, great write up.

delete reply stillwandering wrote on Mar 14, '10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niel_Gow interesting, another violin sync. I chanced upon The Fiddler of the Reels by Thomas Hardy this week

Art, Sir Henry Raeburn,

MY ARTIST FOR THIS WEEK IS

Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)

This painter was the best and most famous Scottish portrait painter of his own time and beyond.  He was born in Stockbridge, Edinburgh on 04/03/1756. His father, a mill owner, died while Raeburn was quite young and he was raised by an elder brother and educated at Heriot's Hospital. He began his working life in 1772 when he was apprenticed to a jeweller, Mr James Gilliland. Fairly soon into his apprenticeship he became distracted from the jewellery trade and began painting miniature water colour portraits of his friends. His talent was noticed and nurtured by one of Edinburgh’s leading portrait painters David Martin.  Under guidance from Martin, Raeburn turned to painting in oil and his own distinctive style soon emerged, his work became instantly recognisable, partly due to his representation of the soft Scottish light. In 1778, he married a wealthy widow whose personal income freed him from the financial restraints of earning a living and allowed him to devote his time entirely to painting.  This marriage also bestowed on him the Deanhaugh Estate in Stockbridge. Later, once his reputation as a portrait painter gave him financial security without relying on his wife’s private funds,  he purchase the neighbouring St. Bernard's estate. Eventually he amassed quite a small fortune by feuing for building the Stockbridge extension of Edinburgh's New Town. In 1784 he met Sir Joshua Reynolds while travelling to London.  He was already an admirer of Reynolds work but after the meeting Raeburn’s work was seen to be influenced by the style Reynolds work. Following Reynolds's advice, Raeburn spent the following two years studying in Italy as did many Scottish artists of that generation. Raeburn returned to Edinburgh in 1787, he set up a studio in George Street, Edinburgh and became the leading portraitist of Edinburgh. His work often featured full length portraits of the prominent and influential people of Scottish Society of that time. From here it didn’t take long for his fame and popularity to spread south of the border. He became a member of the Royal Academy in 1815. He was knighted by King George IV during his visit to Scotland in 1822 and, shortly before his death in 1823, was appointed His Majesty's Limner for Scotland. The two pillars of Scottish Painting and founders of the ‘Scottish School’ of painting are still considered to be Sir David Wilkie and Sir Henry Raeburn.
My own personal favourite is Sir John and Lady Clerk, I love this painting because it is a perfect example of the soft reflected light so typically Scottish. I often say one of the things I love most about Scotland is the quality of the light. Unless you live here, or you have spent some time here that statement may not make much sense, light is light most people tend to think. I think there is such a thing as ‘Scottish Light’, a quality to the light that is not found any where else. This is one of the reasons so many artists paint here, because the light is so special, and this painting, in my mind, shows that special quality better than any other painting I can think of.

delete reply acousticeagle wrote on Sep 22, '08 You have me interested in this Scottish Light. I know, as I paint myself, how important light is for an artist. Well, ever since I moved to Tasmania early last year I've never known natural light like here - way, way 'down-under' (as it is said about Australia in other parts of the world) the mainland. The reason is because of Tasmania being so close to Antarctica, the light here is very white. I find I must wear sunglasses most of the year. The other thing is that there's a lot of UV rays, so wearing a hat is important because you get sunburned without realising it. A truly expressionful painting, to be sure. It really captures the realism of the people pictured, as well as all the beautiful artistry in which the portraits are composed. I can see how golden is the glow in the light.

delete reply lauritasita wrote on Sep 21, '08 Thank you for showing this great painting. It looks so real, like a photograph !

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Sep 21, '08 There is no question that the 'Scottish Light' is most special. Having experienced it for myself, I can attest to it. I would expect that the artists can take advantage of the natural shadows for their paintings and not have to manufacture lighting. I have seen some of Raeburn's work in museums and art catalogs and am impressed by the detail.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Sep 21, '08 What a beautiful painting. Thanks for the lesson, especially the bit you included about the light in Scotland.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Sep 21, '08 Thank you once again for a lovely Sunday morning lesson. I agree there is something special about the light; I have not been to Scotland but I have been to places of the northern latitudes and the light is unique. I also love his detail, particularly the articulation of arms and hands that make them seem so graceful. All of his people seem to look real and have personalities that makes me wish to know more about them. Thank you for this blog.

delete reply starfishred wrote on Sep 21, '08 Yes I can see whay you love the picture it is wonderful-thanks for the tour.