David Scott (October 1806 – 5 March 1849) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

historical painter.

Life

Scott was the brother of

William Bell Scott William Bell Scott (12 September 1811 – 22 November 1890) was a Scottish artist in oils and watercolour and occasionally printmaking. He was also a poet and art teacher, and his posthumously published reminiscences give a chatty and often vi ...

. He was born at Parliament Steps, off Parliament Square in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, where he attended the Royal High School, and studied art under his father, Robert Scott, the engraver. In 1828 he exhibited his first oil picture, the "Hopes of Early Genius dispelled by Death," which was followed by "Cain, Nimrod, Adam and Eve singing their Morning Hymn," "Sarpedon carried by Sleep and Death," and other subjects of a poetic and imaginative character. In 1829 he became a member of the Scottish Academy, and in 1832 visited Italy, where he spent more than a year in study. While in Rome he executed a large symbolical painting, entitled the "Agony of Discord, or the Household Gods Destroyed." The works of his later years include "

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

encountering the Spirit of the Storm," a picture immense in size and most powerful in conception finished in 1842, and now preserved in the

Trinity House, Leith Trinity House, 99 Kirkgate, is a building in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, which was a guild hall, customs house, and centre for maritime administration and poor relief. In the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Era it also served as an almshouse ...

; the "Duke of Gloucester entering the Water Gate of Calais" (1841); the "Alchemist" (1818), "Queen Elizabeth at the Globe Theatre" (1840) and "Peter the Hermit" (1845), remarkable for varied and elaborate character painting; and "Ariel and Caliban" (1837) and the "Triumph of Love" (1846), distinguished by beauty of colouring and depth of poetic feeling. The most important of his religious subjects are the "Descent from the Cross" (1835) and the "Crucifixion the Dead Rising" (1844). Scott also executed several remarkable series of designs. Two of these—the "Monograms of Man" and the illustrations to

Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

's ''

Ancient Mariner ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' (originally ''The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere''), written by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797–98 and published in 1798 in the first edition of ''Lyrical Ballads'', is a poem that recounts the ...

''—were etched by his own hand, and published in 1831 and 1837 respectively, while his subjects from ''The Pilgrim's Progress'' and

Nichol Nichol is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Andrew Nichol (born 1974), Australian rules footballer * B. P. Nichol (1944–1988), Canadian poet * Barbara Nichol (born c. 1956), Canadian writer and documentary maker * Cameron Ni ...

's ''Architecture of the Heavens'' were issued after his death. Scott lived at 5 Mary Place, part of Raeburn Place in

Stockbridge, Edinburgh Stockbridge is a district of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots ''stock brig'' from Anglic languages, Anglic ''stocc brycg'', meaning a timber bridge. ...

. He died at his studio in Easter Dalry House (which he had leased from 1845) in western Edinburgh (now called Orwell Place). He died of a long illness contracted in Italy. Scott was buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

, and a monument designed by his brother was set in 1860. The grave lies in the south-east section not far from the main entrance. It bears the motto "ars longa vita brevis": Art is long, life is short. His main masterpiece is "

Vasco de Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia using an ocean route that roun ...

at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

" which is held at

Trinity House of Leith Trinity House, 99 Kirkgate, is a building in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, which was a guild hall, customs house, and centre for maritime administration and poor relief. In the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Era it also served as an almshouse ...

. In 1850 he created 40 illustrations for a new publication of ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...

.''

Publications

Scott occasionally wrote for ''

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by publisher William Blackwood and originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'', but quickly relaunched as ''Blackwood's Edinb ...

'' including "The Peculiarities of Thought and Style" (1839) and several articles on specific artists in 1840. He created a pamphlet guide ''British, French and German Painting.''

References

External links

Self-Portrait of David Scott
(National Galleries of Scotland)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, David 1806 births 1849 deaths 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Painters from Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish male artists

Life

Publications

References

Further reading

External links