_-_The_Artist's_Parents%2C_the_Reverend_David_Wilkie_(1738%E2%80%931812)_and_his_Wife_Isabella_Lister_(1763%E2%80%931824)_-_NG_2173_-_National_Galleries_of_Scotland.jpg&width=1200)
The Artist's Parents (The Revd David Wilkie, 1738 - 1812 and his Wife Isabella Lister, 1763 - 1824)
David Wilkie·1813
Historical Context
Wilkie's portrait of his parents — the Reverend David Wilkie and Isabella Lister — painted in 1813, carries a quiet emotional weight that distinguishes it from his professional commissions. By 1813 Wilkie was already celebrated for his genre scenes; this portrait of the minister father and his wife is an act of filial piety and intimate observation. The Reverend Wilkie had encouraged his son's vocation despite its unconventional nature for a clergyman's family. The painting now in the National Galleries Scotland serves as a moving record of the domestic Scottish world from which the painter emerged.
Technical Analysis
The oil on panel format gives the portrait a concentrated intimacy. Wilkie models his parents' aged faces with careful observation — respecting their plainness while finding dignity in honest likeness. The handling is more restrained than his genre scenes: direct, unhurried, focused on character rather than effect.
_-_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)
