_-_Study_for_'Duncan_Gray'_-_NG_2302_-_National_Galleries_of_Scotland.jpg&width=1200)
A Study for 'Duncan Gray' (NG 1720)
David Wilkie·c. 1813
Historical Context
Robert Burns's comic poem "Duncan Gray" about a persistent suitor provided Wilkie with material for a finished painting now also in the National Galleries Scotland, and this preparatory study from around 1813 reveals his working process. Wilkie habitually made detailed compositional studies before committing to the final canvas, a practice inherited from his training under John Graham at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh. Burns's poetry was a natural subject for Wilkie, whose art shared the poet's affection for Scottish rural life and vernacular humor.
Technical Analysis
As a preparatory study, the work shows Wilkie's characteristic method of blocking in the main figures and their spatial relationships before refining details. The handling is looser and more spontaneous than in finished works, with visible pentimenti suggesting compositional adjustments. Tonal values are roughly established to test the fall of light across the 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)
