RAEBURN,
(SIR) HENRY, a celebrated portrait-painter, was the younger son of Mr
William Raeburn, a respectable manufacturer at Stockbridge, near Edinburgh,
where he was born, 4th March, 1756. While very young he had the
misfortune to lose both his parents; but this want was supplied to him, as
much as it could be by his elder brother William, who succeeded to the
business, and acted always to him the part of a father. It has been
represented by some of Sir Henry’s biographers (perhaps with a view of
making the after acquirements of the subject of the biography more
remarkable), his education at Heriot’s Hospital, a well known and benevolent
institution in Edinburgh; but this is not the fact, his brother William
having with heartfelt satisfaction given him the scanty, but usual education
of that period. In the usual routine of education he was not remarked to
display any superiority to his class fellows, but when they were drawing
figures on their slates or copy books, those of Raeburn surpassed all the
rest; but this did not lead any further. In other respects he was
distinguished by the affection of his companions, and formed at that early
period intimacies with some of those distinguished friends whose regard
accompanied him through life. The circumstances of young Raeburn rendering
it necessary that he should, as early as possible, be enabled to provide for
his own support, he was at the age of fifteen, apprenticed to a goldsmith,
who kept his shop in a dark alley, leading between the Parliament Square and
the front of the Old Tolbooth. Here, without receiving any lessons, he began
to amuse himself by sketching figures, and ultimately by painting
miniatures. ["It was in this situation "says the late Dr A. Duncan, senior,
"that my first acquaintance with him commenced, and that, too, on a
melancholy occasion. Mr Charles Darwin, son of the justly celebrated Dr
Erasmus Darwin, author of that much esteemed poem, ‘The Botanic Garden,’ and
of other works demonstrating great genius, died during the course of his
medical studies at Edinburgh. At that time I had the honour, though a very
young medical lecturer, of ranking Darwin among the number of my pupils. And
I need hardly add, that he was a favourite pupil: for, during his studies,
he exhibited such uncommon proofs of genius and industry, as could not fail
to gain the esteem and affection of every discerning teacher.
"On the death of young
Darwin, I was anxious to retain some slight token in remembrance of my
highly esteemed young friend; and, for that purpose, I obtained a small
portion of his hair. I applied to Mr Gilliland, at that time an eminent
jeweller in Edinburgh, to have it preserved in a mourning ring. He told me,
that one of his present apprentices was a young man of great genius, and
could prepare for me in hair, a memorial that would demonstrate both taste
and art. Young Raeburn was immediately called, and proposed to execute, on a
small trinket, which might be hung at a watch, a muse weeping over an urn,
marked with the initials of Charles Darwin. This trinket was finished by
Raeburn in a manner which, to me, afforded manifest proof of very superior
genius, and I still preserve it, as a memorial of the singular and early
merit, both of Darwin and of Raeburn.] His master, at first incensed by his
apparent inattention to business, was afterwards astonished by the merit of
his performances, and, with a liberality hardly to have been expected,
conducted him to a place where he might gather the means of improvement in
his self-assumed art, namely, the studio of Mr David Martin, the principal
portrait-painter in Edinburgh. He was delighted with the works there
presented to his eye; and Martin, on the other hand, spoke encouragingly to
the young artist. His miniatures soon became so famous, that commissions
came rapidly in, and he generally painted two in the week. As this
employment, of course, withdrew his time almost entirely from trade, he made
an arrangement with his master, by which the latter was compensated for the
loss he incurred on that account. While still an apprentice, he began to
paint in oil, and on a large scale. To aid him in this task, he obtained
from Martin the loan of several pictures to copy; but that painter did not
contribute advice or assistance in any other shape; and having once unjustly
accused the young student of selling one of the copies, Raeburn indignantly
refused any farther accommodation of this nature. Having begun, however, to
paint large oil pictures, he soon adopted them in preference to miniatures,
a style which he gradually gave up; nor did his manner in later life retain
any trace of that mode of painting: all was broad, massy, and vigorous.
He had thus become a painter
almost by intuition; for there is no ascertaining that he ever received any
direct instructions in the mysteries, or even in the manual operations, of
his art. It was in his twenty-second year, and when practising
regularly as a rival of his old friend Martin, that he became acquainted,
under extraordinary circumstances, with the lady who became his wife. "One
day," says his most animated biographer, [Mr. Allan Cunningham, in his Lives
of British Painters.] "a young lady presented herself at his
studio, and desired to sit for her portrait. He instantly remembered having
seen her in some of his excursions, when, with his sketch-book in his hand,
he was noting down some fine snatches of scenery; and, as the appearance of
any thing living and lovely gives an additional charm to a landscape, the
painter, like Gainsborough, in similar circumstances, had readily admitted
her into his drawing. This circumstance, he said, had had its influence. On
further acquaintance, he found that, besides personal charms, she had
sensibility and wit. His respect for her did not affect his skill of hand,
but rather inspired it, and he succeeded in making a fine portrait. The
lady, Ann Edgar, the daughter of Peter Edgar, esquire, of Bridgelands, was
much pleased with the skill, and likewise with the manners of the artist;
and about a month or so after the adventure of the studio, she gave him her
hand in marriage; bestowing at once an affectionate wife, and a handsome
fortune."
Having now the means of
improving in his art, he set out for London, and was introduced to Sir
Joshua Reynolds, who treated him with distinguished liberality and kindness,
even to the extent of offering him money to prosecute his studies in Rome,
which he was not aware that Raeburn did not need. Furnished with
introductions by this eminent person, he set out for the capital of the
arts, accompanied by his wife. At Rome, he was considerably indebted for
advice to Mr Gavin Hamilton, and likewise to Mr Byers, who gave him the
excellent counsel never to copy any object from memory, but, from the
principal figure to the minutest accessory, to have it placed before him. To
the observance of this rule, Raeburn imputed in a great measure, the
improvement which was observed in his subsequent pictures.
His powers now fully matured,
he returned in 1787 to his native city, and set up his easel in a
fashionable house in George Street. The works of Martin—though certainly
better than the biographers of Raeburn delight to represent them—were so
much eclipsed by the junior artist, that the whole tide of employment left
the one painter for the other. In vain did the veteran prophesy that this
fever of approbation could not last, and that "the lad in George Street"
painted better before he went to Rome. The nation persisted in being of
another opinion, and Martin was at last obliged to retire from the field in
despair. Raeburn at once assumed that pre-eminent rank in his profession,
which, notwithstanding the multitude of rivals who afterwards rose around
him, he bore to the day of his death.
The subsequent history of
this artist, is chiefly that of his pictures. For thirty-six years he was
constantly employed in his professional duties, and painted the most of the
eminent persons who lived in Scotland during that time. Unfortunately no
record has been preserved of his various works; but they are to be found in
almost every distinguished mansion in the country.* Having stored his mind
with ideas drawn from the purest school of modern art, he was indebted for
his subsequent improvement solely to his own reflections, and the study of
nature. He was never in the habit of repairing to London; and, indeed, he
did not visit that metropolis above three times, nor did he reside in it
altogether more than four months. He was thus neither in the habit of seeing
the works of his contemporaries, nor the English collections of old
pictures. Whatever disadvantage might attend this, it never stopped the
career of his improvement. Probably, indeed, it had the effect of preserving
that originality which formed always the decided character of his
productions, and kept him free from being trammelled by the style of any
class of artists. Perhaps, also, the elevation and dignity of style which he
always maintained might be greatly owing to his exclusive acquaintance with
the works of the Italian masters. In English collections, the Dutch
specimens are necessarily so prominent, both as to number and choice, that a
familiar acquaintance with them must be apt to beget a taste for that homely
truth, and minute finishing, in which their merit consists.
The first excellence of a
portrait, and for the absence of which nothing can atone, must evidently be
its resemblance. In this respect, Sir Henry’s eminence was
universally acknowledged. In the hands of the best artists, there must, in
this part of their task, be something precarious; but, in a vast majority of
instances, his resemblances were most striking. They were also happily
distinguished, by being always the most favourable that could be taken of
the individual, and were usually expressive, as well of the character as of
the features. This desirable object was effected, not by the introduction of
any ideal touches, or any departure from the strictest truth, but by
selecting and drawing out those aspects under which the features appeared
most dignified and pleasing. He made it his peculiar study to bring out the
mind of his subjects. His penetration quickly empowered him to discover
their favourite pursuits and topics of conversation. Sir Henry’s varied
knowledge and agreeable manners then easily enabled him, in the course of
the sitting, to lead them into an animated discussion on those ascertained
subjects. As they spoke, he caught their features, enlivened by the
strongest expression of which they were susceptible. While he thus made the
portrait much more correct and animated, his sitters had a much more
agreeable task than those who were pinned up for hours in a constrained and
inanimate posture, and in a state of mental vacuity. So agreeable, indeed,
did many of the most distinguished and intelligent among them find his
society, that they courted it ever after, and studiously converted the
artist into a friend and acquaintance.
Besides his excellence in
this essential quality of portrait, Sir Henry possessed also, in an eminent
degree, those secondary merits, which are requisite to constitute a fine
painting. His drawing was correct, his colouring rich and deep, and his
lights well disposed. There was something bold, free, and open in the whole
style of his execution. The accessories, whether of drapery, furniture, or
landscapes, were treated with elegance and spirit; yet without elaborate and
brilliant finishing, which makes them become principals. These parts were
always kept in due subordination to the human figure; while the head came
always out as the prominent part. Animals, particular that noble species the
horse, were introduced with peculiar felicity; and Sir Henry’s equestrian
portraits are perhaps his very best performances. The able manner in which
the animal itself was drawn, and in which it was combined with the human
figure, were equally conspicuous.
In private life, Raeburn was
remarkable for his courteous and amiable manners, and his great domestic
worth. While his painting-rooms were in George Street, and latterly in York
Place, he resided in a sequestered villa called St Bernard’s, near the
village where he drew his first breath, then distant from, but now engrossed
in, the extending city,--where he amused his leisure by the society of his
children and grand-children, the cultivation of his garden, and the study of
ship-building, and some other mechanical pursuits, for he had a liking. The
hours between nine and four he almost invariably spent in his studio. He
latterly found another kind of employment for his leisure, in planning out
the environs of his little villa, which consisted of about ten acres, in
lots for building, and in designing the architectural elevations of a little
group of streets with which the ground was to be occupied. It may readily be
supposed that in this task he manifested a superiority of corresponding in
some measure with his supremacy in another branch of art. The suburb which
has arisen upon his property, and which was only commenced in his own
lifetime, is accordingly conspicuous for the elegance displayed both in its
general arrangement and in its details; and has become a favourite residence
with such individuals as do not find it necessary for professional reasons
to live nearer the centre of the city.
In 1814, Raeburn was made an
associate of the Royal Academy, and in the subsequent year he became an
Academician. He afterwards obtained, from foreign countries, many honours of
the same kind. In 1822, when George IV. visited Scotland, the
long-established fame of Raeburn, together with his fortune and gentlemanly
manners, pointed him out as an individual in whom the king might signify his
respect for Scottish art, and he was accordingly knighted at Hopetoun House,
on the last day of his majesty’s residence in the country. Some weeks
afterwards, his brethren in art, now increased to a large and respectable
body, gave him a dinner, as a token of their admiration of his talents and
character. In his speech on this occasion, he said modestly that he was glad
of their approbation, and had tried to merit it; for he had never indulged
in a mean or selfish spirit towards any brother artists, nor had at any time
withheld the praise which was due to them, when their works happened
mentioned.
Sir Henry received afterwards
the appointment of portrait-painter to his majesty for Scotland; a
nomination, however, which was not announced to him till the very day when
he was seized with his last illness. The king, when conferring the dignity
of knighthood, had expressed a wish to have a portrait of himself painted by
this great artist; but Sir Henry’s numerous engagements prevented him from
visiting the metropolis for that purpose. It reflects great honour on the
subject of this memoir, that he never gave way to those secure and indolent
habits, which advanced age and established reputation are so apt to
engender. He continued, with all the enthusiasm of a student, to seek and to
attain farther improvement. The pictures of his two or three last years are
unquestionably the best that he ever painted. But perhaps the most
interesting part of his recent works consists in a series of half-length
portraits of eminent Scotsmen, which, during this period, he executed for
his private gratification.
This amiable and excellent
man was suddenly affected with a general decay and debility, not accompanied
by any visible complaint. This state of illness, after continuing for about
a week to baffle all the efforts of medical skill, terminated fatally on the
8th July, 1823, when he had reached the age of 67.
Few men were better
calculated to command respect in society, than Sir Henry Raeburn. His varied
knowledge, his gentlemanly and agreeable manners, an extensive command of
anecdote, always well told and happily introduced, the general correctness
and propriety of his whole deportment, made him be highly valued by many of
the most distinguished individuals in Edinburgh, both as a companion and as
a friend. His conversation might be said in some degree to resemble his
style of painting,.—there was the same ease and simplicity, the same total
absence of affectation of every kind, and the same manly turn of sense and
genius. But we are not aware that the humorous gayety and sense of the
ludicrous, which often enlivened his conversation, ever guided his pencil.
Sir Henry Raeburn, like
Raphael, Michael Angelo, and some other masters of the art, possessed the
advantages of a tall and commanding person, and a noble and expressive
countenance. He excelled in archery, golf, and other Scottish exercises; and
it may be added that, while engaged in painting, his step and attitudes were
at once stately and graceful.
By his lady, who survived him
ten years, Sir Henry had two sons; Peter, a youth of great promise, who died
at nineteen; and Henry, who, with his wife and family, lived under the same
roof with his father during the whole of their joint lives, and was his most
familiar friend and companion. To the children of this gentleman, the
illustrious painter left the bulk of his fortune, chiefly consisting of
houses and ground-rents in the suburb of St Bernard’s.
* The
following pictures by Sir Henry Raeburn, besides others, have been
engraved:--[Full length] First viscount Melville, in peer’s robes.
General Sir David Baird, with horse. Sir Walter Scott, Bart. Macdonell of
Glengarry. Lord chief commissioner Adam. Henry Mackenzie. General the earl
of Hopetoun, with horse.—(Three quarters lengih] Captain G. Duff of
the Mars, who fell at Trafalgar. Neil Gow, with his fiddle. Dr Alexander
Adam. James Pillans, professor of humanity, Edinburgh. John Clerk, of Eldin.
Charles Hope president of the court of session. Robert Macqueen of Braxfield,
in justiciary robes. Hon. Henry Erskine. Dugald Stewart, professor of moral
philosophy. James Gregory, M. D. Robert Blair, president of the court of
session. George the Fourth. Robert Dundas, president of the court of
session. John Elder, provost of Edinburgh, in his robes. William Creech,
bookseller. Professor Thomas Hope. Dr Hugh Blair. James Balfour Esq.,
golfer— [Half length.] Rev. Dr Andrew Hunter, professor of divinity.
George Jardine, professor of logic, Glasgow. Justice clerk Macqueen. Lord
chief baron Dundas. Hay, lord Newton. Rev. Dr David Johnston minister of
North Leith. Rev. Dr John Erskine. Dr James Hamilton. John Gray, Esq.,
golfer. Professor Playfair. Sir Walter Scott, when young; Ditto, when older.
Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, Bart. Tytler of Woodhouselee. Harry David
Inglis advocate. Sir Henry Raeburn. Dr George Hill, principal of St Andrews.
Rev. Archibald Alison. Mr Francis Jeffrey. Henry Cockburn. Lord
Meadowbank._The following are portraits which, with many others, have not
been engraved: Sir Henry Stewart of Allanton. Mr Benjamin Bell, surgeon. Mr
Leonard Horner. Mr Henry Raeburn, the painter’s son. The duke of
Hamilton. Lord Frederick Campbell. The laird of Macnab, in highland costume.
Earl of Breadalbane. Sir John Douglas. Marquis of Huntly, Sir John
Hay. Archibald Constable. Rev. F. Thomson. Sir John and Lady Clerk. Mr
Rennie, engineer. Dr Lindsay, Pinkieburn. Dr Alexander Duncan.
Life of Sir Henry
Raeburn, R.A.
With Portraits and Appendix by his Great-Grandson, William Raeburn Andrew,
M.A., Oxon, Barrister-at-Law, (1886) (pdf) |