John Workman or Warkman (died 1604) was a decorative painter working in Edinburgh.

A family of painters

He was a son of David Workman, who was himself an Edinburgh painter and burgess of the town, and Margaret Schortess. There were several painters of the Workman family in Edinburgh, including Charles, James, and John. John Workman provided decorative painting, gilding, and heraldic work. There is no record of him making portraits. John and other members of his family probably painted some of the

Scottish Renaissance painted ceilings Scottish renaissance painted ceilings are decorated ceilings in Scottish houses and castles built between 1540 and 1640. This is a distinctive national style, though there is common ground with similar work elsewhere, especially in France, Spain ...

but documentary evidence for such work is sparse. David Workman painted the "roof of the inner tolbuith of the lordis and above the chymnay thairof" in November 1581 for the town council for 24

merks The merk () is a long-obsolete Scotland, Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a Mark (currency), money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 1 ...

Royal entry in 1590

Workman's brother James painted a ship, the ''Angel of Kirkcaldy'', which was hired from David Huchesoun to join the convoy bringing Anne of Denmark and James VI back from Denmark in May 1590. He was paid £8 Scots. Painting and decorating the ''James Royall of Ayr'' for the king's outward voyage in 1589 had cost more, and an anonymous painter had received £20. Red and yellow, the Stewart colours, seem to have predominated. Workman and his brother James painted and gilded several items for the

Entry and coronation of Anne of Denmark On 17 May 1590, Anne of Denmark was crowned Queen of Scotland. There was also a ceremony of joyous entry into Edinburgh on 19 May, an opportunity for spectacle and theatre and allegorical tableaux promoting civic and national identities, simil ...

in 1590, including; heraldry for the gates of Edinburgh, imitation stone work in the pends of the gates, decorating the

mercat cross A mercat cross is the Scots language, Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scotland, Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or ...

, the globe, tabards for actors in the drama, some of them pupils of Edinburgh high school, a bed at the Salt Tron, and a baton and rod for Hercules. The accounts mention "painting the young men". These men escorted the queen on the royal mile in a pageant known as the "convoy of the moors". They wore masks and the skin of their arms and legs was painted to dress them as imagined African people. James Workman's paintwork within the arches or pends of the city gates was called "drawing of alschellar draughtis", the imitation of ashlar stonework.

William Fairlie William Fairlie or Fairley (floruit, fl. 1570–1600) was an Edinburgh merchant and burgess. Fairlie (surname), Fairlie was frequently asked by Edinburgh town (Royal burgh, burgh) council to survey and account for public works for the town counci ...

paid James Workman to paint the six staffs used to carry the canopy above

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

used during the Entry and Coronation.

Royal Game of the Goose

In 1602, James Workman painted a board for James VI used for playing a game called "guse" or goose. Known as ''Giuoca dell Oca'' in Italy, the

Game of the Goose The Game of the Goose, also known as the Royal Game of the Goose is one of the first board games to be commercially manufactured. It is a race game, relying only on dice throws to dictate progression of the players. The board is often arranged in t ...

was popular in royal courts in the late 16th century. Players progress by the thow of dice along a course of around 63 squares painted in a spiral.

Painters and glaziers

Painters were closely associated with glaziers in the Edinburgh craft fraternity. In December 1598, James Workman was a witness at the baptism of a son of the glazier John Owen. The bookbinder James Broun was the second witness. John Owen had been a witness at the baptism of a daughter of the painter Thomas Binning in April 1595. After 1606, James Workman resided at

Burntisland Burntisland ( , ) is a former Royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. It was previously known as Wester Kinghorn or Little Kinghorn. The town has a population of 6,269 (2011). Burntisland is known ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

. In June 1611, he painted a press cupboard and shelves green at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

Herald painter

In 1592 John Workman was made a herald painter by privy seal letter. He painted items for the funeral of the Bonnie Earl of Moray, but not the famous portrait of the dead earl at Darnaway. In March 1595 he painted a new loft for scholars in

Trinity College Kirk Trinity College Kirk was a Scottish monarchy, royal collegiate church in Edinburgh, Scotland. The kirk and its adjacent almshouse, Trinity Hospital, were founded in 1460 by Mary of Guelders in memory of her husband, King James II of Sco ...

with sundry colours of oil paints. He decorated a coach used by

when she left for England in 1603 at the

Union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns (; ) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas diplomacy) of the two separate realms under a single ...

. John Workman died of plague on 31 October 1604. His will includes a stock of colours for painting, with

orpiment Orpiment, also known as ″yellow arsenic blende″ is a deep-colored, orange-yellow arsenic sulfide mineral with formula . It is found in volcanic fumaroles, low-temperature hydrothermal veins, and hot springs and may be formed through sublimatio ...

and

azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

.Will, NRS CC8/8/41 p. 337.

References

External links

Edinburgh's welcome to Anna of Denmark: William Fairlie's account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Workman, John Scottish interior designers 1604 deaths Painters from Edinburgh 16th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 16th-century Scottish businesspeople