January 14, 2011
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Fine Art Friday:Raeburn
The Skating Minister by Henry Raeburn
Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches around 1795Prompted by Atlanta's snow-and-ice-laden landscape to recall this famous painting, I spent a little bit of time reading up on the life and times of Robert Walker (1755 - 1808), who was a close friend of the artist, Henry Raeburn, 1756 - 1823. They both lived in Edinburgh, Scotland during a fascinating time in history.
Unconventional in this particular portrait, Raeburn painted dozens of others in the traditional fashion, the list reading like a "Who's Who" in 18th century Scotland: Walter Scott, David Hume, William Creech, James Hutton, Adam Fergusson, and Robert Burns, just to name a few. In this article, The Joy of Portraiture by Paul Johnson (Spectator 2009), I learned that Raeburn employed the tried-and-true *sight-size* method which no doubt contributed to his success.
Walker, bona fide minister who can boast that Adam Smith (Wealth of Nations) was one of his parishioners, spent a portion of his childhood in Holland where he developed a love for sports, especially skating. I like to imagine that in this scene he's deep in thought, perhaps composing the lines from this Sunday sermon delivered in the winter of 1789.
The glory of the summer is departed,
the blast of the wilderness has passed over it, and it is gone,
and winter tarnishes the beauty of nature.
It is sad to see the leafless trees, the naked fields, the ruins of the year.
Yet the beauty of nature shall be restored, the leaves, the bloom, and fruits, shall revive...
But thy mispent youth, O man! shall never return.Thankfully, today's temperature here in Canton, GA (30 miles north of Atlanta) will rise above freezing, the ice will melt, and I wont have to resort to skating to work, like this fine historical Scot.
But I do need to be on my way ~
