Study of Two Figures (for The Burial of the Scottish Regalia)
David Wilkie
(British, 1785−1841)
Dateca. 1832
MediumBlack, red and brown chalk with touches of blue, pink, peach and white gouache on brown wove paper
Dimensions14 3/8 x 18 3/8 in. (36.6 x 46.7 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Charles A. Ryskamp, 2010
Accession number2010.3.09
CommentaryIn this study for an unrealized painting, Wilkie—best known for his history subjects—dramatizes the 1652 burial of Scottish royal treasure for safeguarding from Oliver Cromwell’s forces. The unfinished state of the drawing heightens the visibility of Wilkie’s rapid yet highly descriptive use of line, shadow, and highlight, while also augmenting the suspense of the narrative, which ends at a pregnant moment beside the void of the sheet at left.
Not On View
Attributed to Domenico Beccafumi
ca. 1512−14
Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée)
1655−58
