Catalogue and assessment of drawings by Sir David Wilkie, 1785-1841

Abstract

Drawing played a central role in the formation of David Wilkie's style. His painting style underwent a striking alteration at the very height of his popularity, and this has led to much discussion among critics, both at the time and at the present day. A study of the drawings provides some of the answers to these problems posed by the paintings, and shows Wilkie's development to have been both continuous and consistent.

The catalogue lists several hundred of these drawings, and provides a rough chronological framework whereby Wilkie's development as an artist can be studied. The thesis identifies three main periods during which Wilkie acquired new powers as a draughtsman. The first was the formative period during which he learned the grammar of his profession (1799 - 1811); the second began with his increasing awareness of the works of Rubens, and culminated in his studies in Europe between 1825 and 1828; finally the drawings made on Wilkie's last journey in the East show him attempting a style suitable for Biblical subjects.