The Preaching of John Knox before the Lords of the Congregation 10th June 1559

Wilkie's The Preaching of John Knox before the Lords of the Congregation of 1832 depicts the founding scene of the Scottish Reformation — Knox's address to the Protestant nobility in 1559 that initiated the overthrow of Catholic Mary of Guise's regency. The subject had particular significance for Scottish Protestant identity, and Wilkie approached it with the same careful historical research he brought to his Near Eastern journey subjects. The painting combines the intimate psychological observation of his genre scenes with the grander ambitions of historical painting appropriate to a subject of national constitutional importance.

Wilkie renders the crowded church interior with dramatic chiaroscuro and the broader, more expressive brushwork of his later period. The intense reactions of the congregation to Knox's preaching create a powerful narrative of religious conviction.