The Gentle Shepherd

Artist Sir David Wilkie (Pitlessie, Fife, Scotland, 1785 - 1841)

Date1823

Mediumoil on panel

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 30.1 cm, Width: 40.8 cm
Frame: Height: 53.8 cm, Width: 64 cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1972.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG003541

Keywords

About MeDavid Wilkie trained in Edinburgh and in 1805 moved to London, where he studied at the Royal Academy Schools. He established himself as the most popular genre painter of the day - the public enjoyed the wealth of lively and often humorous incidents in his paintings.

This painting illustrates a scene from 'The Gentle Shepherd', a comedy written in verse by Allan Ramsay (1686-1758). In Act I Scene I Roger, a young shepherd, describes his efforts on the previous evening to woo his beloved Jenny. He had played her a reel 'O'er the Bogie' on his pipe, a traditional stock-and-horn:

Last night I play'd; ye never heard sic spite;
'O'er the Bogie' was the spring, and her delyte;
Yet tauntingly she at her cousin speer'd,
Gif she cou'd tell what tune I play'd, and sneer'd.

Wilkie's painting captures the simplicity and gentle humour of Ramsay's text.

This is one of at least three known versions of this subject (the other two: formerly collection Sir Andrew Forbes-Leith and the National Gallery of Scotland)