Sunset in Scotland
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer RA (London 1802 - London 1873)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1849 - 1851
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
230 x 330 mm
Place of origin
Scotland
Order this imageCollection
Mottisfont, Hampshire (Accredited Museum)
NT 769778
Caption
Landseer was one of the most highly respected and popular British artists of the 19th Century. His talent for drawing was nurtured from an early age, and he was soon making highly realistic images of animals. These were often given human characteristics, which added to their appeal. Queen Victoria was a keen patron. He first visited Scotland in 1824 and was overwhelmed by the people, wildlife and landscape. He returned every year, and Scotland began to feature regularly in his paintings, from intimate landscapes such as this to major works like his famous image of a stag, ‘Monarch of the Glen’. In this picture, we see Landseer focus on the twilight settling on a Highland scene, tiny figures disappearing into the shadowy gloom. In later life, he suffered from mental illness and alcohol abuse, yet still managed to attract a major commission to design the much-loved bronze lions in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Sunset in Scotland, by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (London 1802 - London 1873), circa 1849/51. Landseer was one of the most highly respected and popular British artists of the 19th Century. His talent for drawing was nurtured from an early age, and he was soon making highly realistic images of animals. These were often given human characteristics, which added to their appeal. Queen Victoria was a keen patron. He first visited Scotland in 1824 and was overwhelmed by the people, wildlife and landscape. He returned every year, and Scotland began to feature regularly in his paintings, from intimate landscapes such as this to major works like his famous image of a stag, Monarch of the Glen. Here, we see Landseer focus on the twilight settling on a Highland scene, tiny figures disappearing into the shadowy gloom. In later life, he suffered from mental illness and alcohol abuse, yet still managed to attract a major commission to design the much-loved bronze lions in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Provenance
Presented by Derek Hill (1916 - 2000) through The National Art Collections Fund (Art Fund), 1996
Credit line
Mottisfont Abbey,The Derek Hill Collection (presented through the National Art-Collections Fund to the National Trust in 1996)
Makers and roles
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer RA (London 1802 - London 1873), artist