Crichton Castle
It is thought that Reverend John Thomson of Duddingston 1778-1840 was the first truly original Scottish landscape painter, other contemporaries such as Alexander Nasmyth tended to paint following neoclassical fashions. This was not the case with John Thomson who painted his own unique vision of the landscape using very loose heavy impressionistic brushwork well before it’s time that is full of dramatic and mysterious shadows, further he did not fear to alter the landscape to suit his atmospheric interpretation of it.
Although Thomson has been considered by many as an amateur due to his profession as a minister, this is not a fair estimate of his abilities as an artist. In his day he was a famed painter who traversed the most inaccessible parts of Scotland to record them and even went on painting excursions with JMW Turner. He would not sign his canvases because he believed that if his work was not immediately recognisable then he had failed to stand out as a painter.
His work has a particular focus on the ruins Scottish castles, probably his work is the most comprehensive of any artist in recording these.
This fine and dramatic sunset composition is an interpretation of Crichton Castle in Midlothian which was a subject he painted on many occasions due to his living close by.
Sadly many of Thomsons works have suffered from the use of bitumen in his paintings which was prevalent in the early 19th century, use of this led to cracking and many other problems. This has meant that many of his works are in a poor state of preservation and do now show the lustre that was originally present.
As is almost always the case with works by Thomson this work has undergone restoration in the past including relining and is now in a presentable and stable state.
It is my view that with time John Thomson will once again be recognised for his importance as the first true painter of the Scottish Landscape.
Oil on canvas 123×80cm
