Mackie, David Alexander Thomson

2018-01-31T11:22:38Z

2018-01-31T11:22:38Z

1994

This thesis gives the biography of the Scottish portrait painter Sir Henry Raeburn R.A. (1756-1823), an outline of his training, a description of his stylistic development and a catalogue of his works.

The problem of his activities as a miniaturist is addressed: only two are known but he is reported to have produced many. It is proposed that mourning jewels, made when he was an apprentice goldsmith, may have constituted part of this lost body of work. Raeburn was given some training by David Deuchar (1743-1808), Alexander Runciman (1736- 1785) and David Martin (1737-1798). New evidence relating to Raeburn's time with Martin is given. Raeburn's portrait George Chalmers of Pittencrieff is not accepted as dating from before the trip to Rome. Only one independent portrait commission is dated in the thesis to that period. It is suggested that as an artist Raeburn was a probationer when he left Scotland and that he rapidly matured in Italy. He studied in Rome from 1784 - c. 1787 in the circle of James Byres (1734-1817). An important portrait from his Roman years has been uncovered. He returned to Scotland in about 1787 and spent his entire career in Edinburgh. It is argued that it was his time in Italy which formed his early style, rather than some presumed contact with the work of Reynolds.

Raeburn's painting of c. 1800 responded to new concerns. He is also recorded as working as an underwriter shortly after that date. For an unknown reason the artist went bankrupt in 1808. New documents pn this matter are presented.

An examination is made of the widely held view that Raeburn's late style was due to a trip he made to London in 1810. Proof is given dating from before 1810 of a move in this new artistic direction.

Those with closed minds on Raeburn, holding views formulated ninety years ago, will not read these sections with pleasure.

The catalogue contains slightly more than eight hundred entries dealing with almost one thousand works. Dating Raeburn's portraits is difficult and consequently the catalogue is arranged alphabetically. The catalogue contains entries on the copies Raeburn made after the works of other artists and entries on works known only from archival sources. Rejected works are not listed. The thesis does not deal with Raeburn's influence on other painters.

http://hdl.handle.net/1842/26716

The University of Edinburgh

Annexe Thesis Digitisation Project 2017 Block 15

Already catalogued

Raeburn, life and art

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy