Portrait of the artist: Putting a face to great artistic works

Published on Sunday 6 February 2011 19:28

Have you ever admired a work of art on a gallery wall and wanted to put a face to the artist? If so, there's a new exhibition in Edinburgh just for you

GREAT art can punch us in the gut, move us to tears, or take our breath away. It's easy to get lost in a picture, whether that admiration is academic and intellectual, or springs from the deepest wells of emotion. Once we are stirred, it's only natural to wonder about the person wielding the paintbrush. Who was he or she? What did they look like? When and how did they live? Who were their friends? Of course art has to stand independent of the artist's life, but let's be honest – most of us are curious.

From Thursday, there's an opportunity to satisfy yourself on some of those points, with the opening of The Artist Up Close, a gem of a display nestled amid the National Gallery's Scottish masters. Chosen from their Prints and Drawings collection, the exhibit, curated by Hannah Brocklehurst, features portraits of some of Scotland's most admired artists, spanning the past 300 years. Some are self-portraits, others were done by friends or family members.

"We thought it would be nice to let visitors see the faces behind the works on the walls. It's a great way to forge a connection to the artist and it adds another layer of insight," says Brocklehurst, before adding, "I'm a bit of a Scotophile, which is another reason I wanted to do the show. My parents are from Scotland, though I grew up down south. It's nice to have a little celebration of Scottishness." Many of the portraits – watercolours, prints, and etchings – are not out on permanent display, so this is a rare chance to take a peek at these beautiful works of art. "Because they're not only self-portraits, but portraits by others who were close to them, it's an opportunity to not only see how artists perceived themselves, but how others see them, as well," says Brocklehurst.

"Some are more informal than standard portraits. In a lot of them the subjects are pictured holding their artist's tools, so they're being seen doing their job." Some of the pictures are so informal that they were clearly made for personal enjoyment, rather than public display. The exhibition highlights the close-knit artist's community that thrived in Scotland. Despite the tendency for Scottish artists to spend years studying and working abroad or down in London, many formed links with their fellow practitioners that lasted a lifetime. And what do artists do when they're alone together? They sketch. After all, it's much cheaper than hiring a model.

Among the pictures friends made of friends, the exhibition showcases reciprocal portraits by a young Henry Raeburn and his mentor, David Deuchar. This miniature of Deuchar is one of Raeburn's earliest known works, painted when he was still a teenager, yet already evincing the tremendous skill that's characteristic of his work.

John Brown (1749–1787), Portrait of Alexander Runciman c.1782, Pencil on paper:

BROWN and Runciman (1736 – 1785) were both born in Edinburgh and both spent time in Rome around 1771. There they found kindred spirits in artists such as Fuseli, Sergel, Abildgaard and Barry.

Their friendship remained strong after they'd returned to Scotland, as documented in the pencil study above by Brown – on the back of which is a pen and ink sketch of Brown by Runciman. The National Gallery is also home to the lively Runciman oil, painted circa 1784, that not only demonstrates the closeness of these two friends, but shows how their work diverged.

Brown was influenced by Runciman's more romantic reaction to Italy, but specialised in extremely accurate views of Roman antiquities and Italian scenery, which he sold to his Scottish patrons. Back home, he concentrated on pencil minature portraits, executed swiftly, while Runciman became better known as an historical painter.

Runciman's double portrait was painted for their mutual patron David, Earl of Buchan. Runciman is seated on the left, and Brown is on the right, holding a copy of The Tempest. Brown wrote about this painting to Lord Buchan in August 1784: "I was yesterday with Runciman and sat for my portrait which he has done a first sitting on the same canvas on which he had already done his own. The piece is for your Lordship and I think will be an admirable one.

"He has represented himself sitting at his work, his pallet and pencils in one hand and a porte crayon in the other. I, behind, am seeming to point at and find fault with some part of his work, at which as being rather irascible and impatient of reproof, he is making a damnable face, as he expresses it. I flatter myself your Lordship will be much satisfied with it."Helen Paxton Brown (1876–1956), Portrait of Jessie M King, Watercolour, ink and black chalk on paper:

HELEN PAXTON BROWN and Jessie Marion King (1875 – 1949) were fellow pupils at Glasgow School of Art and shared a studio from around 1898 until 1907. Both were members of the group dubbed the "Glasgow Girls". King was best known for her distinctive illustrations and her designs for ceramics and silver. Paxton Brown excelled at embroidery and painting. She had a reputation as a wit, and once sat for James McNeil Whistler.

King, originally from Kirkcudbright, returned there with her husband, EA Taylor, at the start of the First World War. They created an artist's community – which included Paxton Brown – that lived and worked in a block of houses in Green Gate Close.

As this portrait shows, both women shared a keen interest in fashion. King was renowned for her eccentricity, which included wearing brightly darned stockings, a broad-brimmed hat, gauntlet gloves and a long black cloak. Rumour in Kirkcudbright had it she was a witch, and she did nothing to discourage that image, even penning a portrait of herself riding a broomstick.

Sir Henry Raeburn (1756–1823) Portrait of David Deuchar c.1773, Watercolour on paper:

DEUCHAR, originally from Kinnell in Forfarshire, was a goldsmith, a seal engraver, and an amateur etcher. He was friendly with a goldsmith called Gilliland, and, according to Brocklehurst, on visits to Gilliland's workshop, Deuchar noticed a young apprentice who always seemed to be skiving off, doing his own drawings. He asked to see the sketches and was impressed. He convinced Raeburn, below, to become a painter, instead of a jeweller. Deuchar gave Raeburn drawing lessons and helped to fund his training. The two men remained friends for life. Raeburn's portrait of his mentor, above, is the earliest known work by the man who'd become one of Scotland's most renowned painters.

Andrew Geddes (1783-1844), Portrait of Sir William Allan, 1815, Etching, touched with drypoint on paper

BROCKLEHURST says: "Although posed in an Edinburgh studio, this portrait of William Allan (1782-1850) tells you quite a lot about how well his friend knew him, and how he wanted to exhibit a bit more about his personality and his interests. It doesn't look like a run of the mill portrait of a Scottish artist." That may partly be because Geddes specialised in portraits of sitters dressed in exotic costume, but it also speaks to Allan's passions, as well.

Allan, who became president of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1838, wasn't a run-of-the-mill artist. He was fascinated with the exotic, and with travelling to distant lands, visiting Russia and moving throughout the Middle East, collecting armour and costumes along the way. Here, Geddes shows him dressed as a Circassian archer. Geddes and Allan may have met through their mutual good friend, Sir David Wilkie. Allan died on 23 February, 1850, in his house at Great King Street, while working a painting of the Battle of Banockburn.

• The Artist Up Close: Portraits of Scottish Artists from the Prints and Drawings Collection is on at the National Gallery complex, The Mound, Edinburgh, from 10 February to 5 June. Admission free