, Brepols, 2021 Hardback, 2 vols, 756 pages, Size:225 x 300 mm, Illustrations:1265 col., Language: English. ISBN 9782503597270.
Summary This book is the first comprehensive publication on Scottish portraiture from the period 1644 to 1714, with an emphasis on the painters David Scougall (1625-1685), and his son John Scougall (1657-1737). It is based on in-depth art historical and archival research. As such, it is an important academic contribution to this thus far little-researched field. Virtually nothing was known about the Scougall portraitists, who also include the somewhat obscure George Scougall (active c. 1690-1737). Thorough archival research has provided substantial biographical information. It has yielded life dates and data on family relations and, also, it has become clear that David Scougall had two parallel careers, as a portrait painter and as a writer (solicitor). The legal community in which the Scougalls were embedded has been defined, as well as an extended group of sitters and their social, economic, and family networks. The book includes a catalogue raisonné of the oeuvre of David Scougall. The most important contemporaries of the Scougalls were the portraitist L. Schüneman (active c. 1655/60-1667 or slightly later), his successor James Carrudus (active c. 1668-1683 or later), whose work is identified for the first time in this book, David Paton (c. 1650-in or after 1708), Jacob Jacobsz. de Wet (1641/42-1697) and Sir John Baptist Medina (1659-1710). Their lives and work are discussed. An extensive survey of Scottish portraits, with an emphasis on the work of the Scougall painters, is presented for the period 1644 to 1714. Numerous attributions to various artists and sitter identifications have been established or revised. An overview of the next generation is provided, in which the oeuvres and biographical details are highlighted of the principal portrait painters, such as William Aikman (1682-1731), Richard Waitt (1684-1733) and John Alexander (1686-1767). Countless paintings have been photographed anew or for the first time, and have been compared in detail, which had hardly been done before, while information is also included on technical aspects and (original) frames. The resulting data have been complemented by analysing the social and (art-) historical context in which the portraits were made. The works of the portrait painters in Scotland from this period, as this book shows, now form a solid bridge between the portraits painted prior to George Jamesone's death in 1644, and those by the renowned Scottish painters of the eighteenth century. TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I Abbreviations - Foreword - Acknowledgements Introduction Current State of Published Research on the Scougalls and Their Circle and the Appreciation of Their Work Through the Centuries The Elder Scougall/Old Scougall and the Younger Scougall Dates and Scarcity of Known Archival Material Artistic Context: Painting in Scotland, the Start of a Portrait Tradition, c. 1575-1660 David Scougall (Edinburgh, 1625-1685), His Life and Career Emerging from the Shadows Father and Son, John (d. after 13 October 1627) and David (1625-1685) Writer and Painter Family Patrons The Outset of a Career Father and Son, David (1625-1685) and John (1657-1737) The Advocate's Close The Profession of a Writer or Clerk in the Time of David Scougall The Profession of a Painter in the Time of David Scougall Possible Teachers and Family Creativity Decline and Death Skougall or Scougall Personal Network, Legal Community and Further Family Relations John Scougall (Edinburgh, 1657-1737), His Life and Career A Long and Prosperous Life Becoming a Limner Family Patrons Increased Prosperity Lack of Competition 1694: A Year of Important Changes Decline in Skill and Death David Scougall: The Oeuvre, Characteristics, Development and Sources of Inspiration The Outset of a Career Core Works, the Basis for a Compilation of the Oeuvre Associated Works Miniatures or Pocket Pictures Stylistic Features and Motifs Consistency in Style Late Works, 1675-1685 Technical Aspects of David Scougall's Paintings Technical Research and Painting Technique Painting Materials David Scougall as a Copyist Costumes and Jewellery Use of Motifs from Portraits by Other Painters No Inventor, but Painting Real People Production Studio Practice and Legal Community John Scougall: The Oeuvre, Characteristics, Development and Sources of Inspiration The Early Years Indisputable Works Associated Works Use of Motifs from Portraits by Other Painters Stylistic Features and Motifs Technical Aspects of John Scougall's Paintings Technical Research and Painting Technique John Scougall as a Copyist Production Mending and Washing Studio Practice and Apprentices George Scougall (b. 1670?, active c. 1690- c. 1737) Lack of Biographical Data In the Studio of John Scougall Inadequate Traces of Work Clients/Sitters Nobility and Clergy Clients and Religious Beliefs Loyal Patrons Bonding Portraits Competition from Abroad Ladies and Gentlemen Portraying Children Problems in Sitter Identification Known Sitter, but Problem in Period and Handling Portraits Telling the Truth? Scougall's Clients, Where Were They Based, and the Painter's Studio Backs and Frames The Back of the Painting Period Frames Prices for Portraits and Frames Prices for Portraits by David Scougall 1664-1683 Prices for Portraits by John Scougall 1674-1728 Prices for Frames The Contemporaries of the Scougalls John Michael Wright (1617-1694) L. Schüneman (active c. 1655/60-1667 or shorty after) James Carrudus (active 1671 or earlier-1683 or later) David Paton (c. 1650-in or after 1708) Thomas Murray (1663-1735) Jacob Jacobsz. de Wet (1641/42-1697) Portraits, Painters Unknown Painters, Portraits Unknown Sir John Baptist Medina (1659-1710) The Next Generation William Aikman (1682-1731) Richard Waitt (1684-1733) John Alexander (1686-1767) John Smibert (1688-1751) And Beyond Summary and Conclusion Appendices Appendix I The Scougall Family, Reconstruction of the Family Tree Appendix II Transcriptions of Various Archival Documents Concerning the Scougall Painters Appendix III The Mysterious Portrait of 'John Scougall' Appendix IV Transcription of the Memoir by Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, 1st Baronet (1649-1722) of His Wife Elizabeth Henderson, Lady Clerk (1658-1683) ? VOLUME II Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings by David Scougall (1625-1685) Introduction Glossary Catalogue A Authentic Works Catalogue AW Works Known Only from Written Sources Catalogue B Copies by David Scougall After Works by Others Catalogue C Doubtful Works Catalogue D Works Known Only Through Copies and Prints Catalogue E Rejected Works Concordance Notes Bibliography Websites Guides to Houses and Other Venues Exhibitions Inserted Details Index