Scottish genre art is the depiction of everyday life in Scotland, or by Scottish artists, emulating the genre art of Netherlands painters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Common themes included markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, and street scenes.
The tradition was founded in Scotland in the late eighteenth century by David Allan, who moved from classical and mythological themes to scenes of everyday life, including his most famous work Illustrations of the Gentle Shepherd. As a result he earned the title of "the Scottish Hogarth". By the end of the eighteenth century genre art had become a Scottish speciality. The tradition was successfully taken up by David Wilkie, who was one of the most internationally influential artists of this day.
Scottish painters influenced by Wilkie included John Burnet, Alexander George Fraser and Walter Geikie. A younger generation that took genre painting into the late nineteenth century included Erskine Nicol and the brothers John and Thomas Faed. Genre art was a major influence on early photography, which developed rapidly in Scotland with figures such as Hill & Adamson.
Painting and drawing
Eighteenth century
David Allan (1744–96) was known as a classical and mythological painter, visiting Italy, he returned to Edinburgh in 1780, where he became director and master of the Academy of Arts in 1786. Here he produced his most famous work, Illustrations of the Gentle Shepherd (1788). These series of engravings for Allan Ramsay's poem The Gentle Shepherd, show an extreme attention to detail in everyday life. His other scenes from everyday Scottish life included Highland Dance (1780), Highland Wedding, Blair Athol (1780), and The Penny Wedding (1785), all of which demonstrate the influence of earlier genre artists Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Jan de Witt. For these works Allan earned the title of "the Scottish Hogarth".
By the end of the eighteenth century genre art had become a Scottish speciality, with artists including Alexander Carse (c. 1770–1843) and Walter (or William) Weir (d. 1865) following Allan into the form. Carse was probably a student of Allan and his watercolour of Oldhamstocks Fair of 1796, the year of Allan's death, can be seen as a tribute to the older artist. His most notable works in the tradition were Leith Races, Return from Leith Races (both 1794) and Visit of the Country Relations (1812), which pioneered the sociological study of urban and rural life, anticipating later work by David Wilkie, with whom he would be a competitor. Both Carse and Wilkie exhibited paintings with the title The Penny Wedding in 1818. Weir produced two drawings illustrating "Hallowe'en" (1816) by Robert Burns.
Early nineteenth century
The tradition was taken up most successfully by David Wilkie (1785–1841), often noted as the founder of the British tradition of genre painting. Wilkie worked mainly in London, and produced the flattering painting of the King George IV in Highland dress commemorating the royal visit to Scotland in 1822 that set off the international fashion for the kilt. He became Royal Limner in 1823 and would emerge of one of the most influential British artists of the century. After a tour of Europe Wilkie was increasingly influenced by Renaissance and Baroque painting and he became most famous for his anecdotal paintings of Scottish and English life. The first indication of this direction in his was his illustration of The Gentle Shepherd (before 1797). His Pitessie Fair (1804) was based on Robert Burns poems "The Vision" and "The Holy Fair". His work on themes of Scottish everyday life included Village Politicians (1806), The Blind Fiddler (1806), Distraining for Rent (1815) and The Penny Wedding (1818). His most famous work was The Chelsea Pensioners reading the Waterloo Dispatch, which was one of the most popular exhibitions in London in 1822. His sketch Knox preaching before the Lords of the Congregation (1822), dealt with the historic themes that would become a major part of Scottish painting in the second half of the century and he would also be a major influence on oriental painting.