Sir David Wilkie

Sir David Wilkie (1785-1841), Scottish painter of distinguished portraits and historical canvases, but best known for his scenes of everyday life. Wilkie was born in Fife, and between 1799 and 1804 studied at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh. In 1805 he moved to London, where he trained at the Royal Academy. Although his early portraits copied the style of Scottish painter Sir Henry Raeburn, his later development was influenced by extensive travels in Europe, where he was especially impressed by the historical paintings of Spanish painters such as Diego Velázquez. Wilkie died in a boat off the coast of Malta, while returning from a trip to the Middle East.

Despite his initial attempts at academic history painting and portraiture, Wilkie gained his reputation through unidealized paintings of village life, in which he displayed his talent for vivid representations of human types. His early paintings of this type, influenced by 17th-century Dutch painters such as Adriaen van Ostade, culminated in the extremely popular Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Gazette of the Battle of Waterloo (1818-1822, Apsley House, London, England). Later, his travels in Europe led him to paint in a grander, more historicizing manner, which was considerably less popular. Still, the degree of his success is indicated by his royal commissions, including Portrait of King William IV (1832-1833, Apsley House).

The respect in which Wilkie was held by his contemporaries is demonstrated by a painting of his burial by renowned British artist J. M. W. Turner, Peace: Burial at Sea (Tate Gallery, London), which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1842.