George Jamesone (or Jameson) (c. 1587 – 1644) was a Scottish painter who is regarded as

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

's first eminent portrait-painter.

Early years

He was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

, where his father, Andrew Jamesone, was a stonemason. Jamesone attended the

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

near his home on Schoolhill and is thought to have gone on to further education at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on lon ...

. Legend has it that Jamesone once studied under

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

in Antwerp with Anthony

van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

. This is, however, yet to be proven as his name does not appear to be noted on the Guild registers of the town. Since Rubens was exempt from registering pupils, the absence of Jamesone's name does not mean that the painter definitely did not study there. Jamesone certainly did complete an apprenticeship under the supervision of his uncle, John Anderson, who was a popular decorative painter in Edinburgh at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Jamesone finished this training in 1618. He is not recorded as being in Aberdeen again until 1620. If the Scotsman had gone to Antwerp, it would have had to have been between the years of 1618 to 1620.

Career

Whilst in Aberdeen, Jamesone made a name for himself painting portraits of local academics and scholars from the city's two feuding colleges: King's and Marischal. In 1633, when

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

made his grand royal visit to Edinburgh, Jamesone rose from local to national fame. For this occasion the painter was asked to decorate a highly elaborate triumphal arch with the portraits of all the past kings of Scotland. He was also given the honour of painting the portrait of Charles himself. It has been said that the king was so pleased with the result that he gave Jamesone a ring off his own finger as a reward. After hearing of the King's approval, many of the Scottish gentry desired to be painted by the now highly reputable George Jamesone. One of his finest examples is that of Mary Erskine which is on display at the

National Gallery of Scotland The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

. Jamesone had homes and studios in Aberdeen (on Schoolhill opposite St. Nicholas Kirk) and in Edinburgh (on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), de ...

right next door to

John Knox House John Knox House, popularly known as John Knox's House, is an historic house in Edinburgh, Scotland, reputed to have been owned and lived in by Protestant reformer John Knox during the 16th century. Although his name became associated with the ho ...

). Having two bases allowed him to meet the demands of hundreds of patrons from the north to the south of the country. Jamesone died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1644 and was buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

in the centre of the city. The grave is largely illegible but lies on the east wall of the original churchyard.Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Grampian Society, 1871

Legacy

Jamesone's pupil,

John Michael Wright John Michael Wright (May 1617 – July 1694) was an English or Scottish (he signed as both at times) portrait painter in the Baroque style. Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scots painter George Jamesone, and acquired a considerable rep ...

, also went on to be a highly important portrait painter in seventeenth century British art.

Family

Although Jamesone had several children with his young Aberdonian wife Isabella Tosche, only one lived to adulthood. This was his youngest daughter Mary. Mary Jamesone inherited her father's artistic talents and excelled in the craft of needlework. Four examples of her dexterity, four scenes from the Old Testament and

Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

, can be seen to this day in

St. Nicholas Kirk The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Up until the dissolution of the congregation on 31 December 2020, it was known as the ''"Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting"''. It is also known as ''"The Mit ...

in Aberdeen.

References

;Attribution

External links