The Cottar's Saturday Night
David Wilkie·1837
Historical Context
The Cottar's Saturday Night at Kelvingrove, painted in 1837, illustrates Robert Burns's famous poem about a humble Scottish family's domestic devotions. Wilkie's paintings of Scottish rural life helped create the visual identity of Scottish national culture. As Principal Painter in Ordinary, Wilkie occupied the summit of the British art establishment, and his late royal portraits and Middle Eastern subjects reflect his ambition to expand beyond the Scottish genre subjects that had made his name.
Technical Analysis
The warm interior lighting focuses on the family group's devotional activity. Wilkie's detailed observation of Scottish domestic life creates a convincing, sympathetic genre scene.
_-_Sketch_of_a_Head_for_'The_Rabbit_on_the_Wall'_-_FA.231(O)_-_Victoria_and_Albert_Museum.jpg&width=400)
_-_The_Broken_Jar_-_FA.225(O)_-_Victoria_and_Albert_Museum.jpg&width=400)
_-_The_Refusal_-_FA.226(O)_-_Victoria_and_Albert_Museum.jpg&width=400)
_-_The_Daughters_of_Sir_Walter_Scott_-_FA.230(O)_-_Victoria_and_Albert_Museum.jpg&width=400)
.jpg&width=600)