Rev John Thomson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

Hon RSA (1 September 177828 October 1840) was a Scottish minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

and noted amateur landscape painter. He was the minister of

Duddingston Kirk Duddingston Kirk is a Parish Church in the Church of Scotland, located adjacent to Holyrood Park in Duddingston Village, on the east side of the City of Edinburgh. Regular services are held at the kirk. History Cassel identifies the buildin ...

from 1805 to 1840.

Life

The youngest of eight children, Thomson was born in the

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

Dailly Dailly () is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the Water of Girvan, south of Maybole, and east of Old Dailly. "New Dailly", as it was originally known, was laid out in the 1760s as a coal-mining village. In 1849 a fire br ...

, Ayrshire, the fourth son of Mary Hay and her husband, Rev Thomas Thomson, the local parish minister of the

. He was educated at Dailly Parish School. From an early age, he displayed an aptitude for drawing and painting and, inspired by the Ayrshire countryside, developed a love for landscape painting. In 1791 he enrolled at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

to study law and theology, and in 1793 he transferred to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

to study divinity. While there, he met many people who were prominent in Edinburgh artistic circles, including

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

, and

Alexander Nasmyth Alexander Nasmyth (9 September 175810 April 1840) was a Scottish portrait and Landscape art, landscape Painting, painter, a pupil of Allan Ramsay (artist), Allan Ramsay. He also undertook several architectural commissions. Biography Nasmyth ...

, the latter of whom who gave him art lessons. After graduating, Thomson returned to Ayrshire and was licensed as minister of the

, and subsequently

ordain Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

ed as minister of Dailly in 1800 in place of his father. In 1805 he was translated to

Duddingston Duddingston is an affluent, historic village in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Holyrood Park.It is a conservation area, not to be confused with the rest of Duddingston, which stretches down towards Portobello. Duddingston Village bo ...

near Edinburgh and became the most famous minister of the local

Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...

, remaining in the role until death in 1840. In 1814 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

, Archibald Alison, and

Sir David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optic ...

. While at Duddingston a very fine portrait of him was painted by

Robert Scott Lauder Robert Scott Lauder (25 June 1803 – 21 April 1869) was a Scottish artist who described himself as a "historical painter". He was one of the original members of the Royal Scottish Academy. Life and work Lauder was born at Silvermills, Ed ...

who married Thomson's daughter Isabella in 1833. Thomson died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

at Duddingston manse in 1840, having spent 41 years in the ministry. He was succeeded by Rev James Macfarlane. His grave in Duddingston churchyard is marked by a distinctive stone sarcophagus.

Artistic aspects

Thomson had a studio at the foot of the manse garden on the shore of Duddingston Loch. Later, this was replaced by Duddingston Tower, a structure designed for Duddingston Curling Society in 1825 by

William Playfair William Playfair (22 September 1759 – 11 February 1823) was a Scottish engineer and political economist. The founder of graphical methods of statistics, Playfair invented several types of diagrams: in 1786 he introduced the line, area and ...

. The Society used the ground floor as their clubhouse, and Thomson used the upper floor of the tower, known today as "Thomson's Tower", as his studio. The move to Duddingston allowed him to renew his acquaintances with men of influence in artistic circles and develop his art. Like his early teacher, Naysmith, Thomson believed in working outdoors, observing directly from nature. Influenced by the techniques of

Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: Plants and animals * ''Rosa'' (plant), the genus of roses * Rosa (sea otter), a sea otter that has become popular on the internet * Rosa (cow), a Spanish-born cow People * Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * San ...

Lorrain Lorrain or Le Lorrain may refer to: People * Claude Lorrain (1600–1682), French Baroque painter, draughtsman and etcher born Claude Gellée, called le Lorrain in French * Dessamae Lorrain (1927–2011), American archaeologist * James Herbert Lo ...

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the Classicism, classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and ...

Raeburn Raeburn is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Agnes Raeburn (1872-1955), Scottish artist * Anna Raeburn (born 1944), British broadcaster and journalist * Boyd Raeburn U.S. jazz bandleader and bass saxophonist * Henry Raeburn (175 ...

and renowned English landscape artist

J.M.W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

, he developed a broad Romantic style, and became a landscape artist with an established reputation. This allowed him to augment his small

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

and become quite wealthy through the sale of his paintings. In addition to Scott, Naysmith and Raeburn, Thomson was friendly with writer and fellow amateur artist,

Thomas Dick Lauder Sir Thomas Dick Lauder of Fountainhall, 7th Baronet, FRSE FSA (Scot) LLD (13 August 178429 May 1848) was a Scottish author. He served as Secretary to the Board of Manufactures (1839–), on the Herring Fisheries Board, at the Royal Instituti ...

, and such was Thomsons reputation that in 1818 he entertained Turner at his studio, who is said to have remarked of the outlook over the Loch: "By God sir, I envy you that piece of water." Duncan Macmillan sees the influence of Turner and

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

in Thomson's ''Fast Castle from Below'', painted around 1824. Thomson went on to collaborate with Turner in producing engravings to illustrate Walter Scott's ''Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland'', published in 1826. Recognising his talent, Thomson's congregation nominated him to become a member of the Association of Artists in Edinburgh. He went on to receive honorary memberships of the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland and the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

Family

In 1801 he married Isabella Ramsay (1782-1809) daughter of Rev John Ramsay of Kirkmichael. Together they had a daughter Margaret (1806-1827). Their son Thomas Thomson MD (1802-1873) became

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

. John Thomson (1803-1870) was a Captain in the HEICS. Their daughter Isabella Thomson (1809-1869) married the artist

.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott In 1813, following Isabella's death he married Frances Ingram Spence (1779-1845). She was the widow of Martin Dalrymple of Fordel. They had further sons: Francis Thomson MD (1814-1858); Henry Francis (b. 1819); Edward (b.1821); and two daughters, Emily (b.1816) and Mary Helen (b.1817). His older brother was the antiquarian Thomas Thomson

Memorials

Thomson's nephew Lochhart Thomson had installed a memorial stained glass window in 1903 in Duddingston Kirk. It stands immediately to the west of the pulpit.

Anecdotes

*In addition to being known for his landscape paintings, Thomson is often credited with giving rise to the famous Lowland Scots

adage A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

" We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns", which as early as 1847 was described as "an expression of mutual good fellowship very frequently heard in Scotland." However, there is some evidence that it may predate John Thomson, and there is also a

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

version. *One version attributing the origin of the adage to Thomson is that his first wife died after they had five children, he then married a widow who already had five children, and this second marriage produced another four children. When his wife then made introductions to visitors and tried to explain which family the various children belonged to, Thomson would interrupt her with the statement that "They're a' Jock Thomson's bairns". It may also be accounted for by his general reputation for forgiveness and inclusiveness, for example his reputed disapproval of the excessive use of withdrawing communion tokens to exclude parishioners from taking communion. This might explain an already extant old saying being adopted to refer to him. *To ensure privacy to paint in his studio, Thomson named the Tower "Edinburgh", in order that casual visitors to the Manse could be informed by his staff that he was unavailable, as he had gone to "Edinburgh". *Duddingston Loch has a long historical connection with

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

and

skating Skating involves any sports or recreational activity which consists of traveling on surfaces or on ice using skates, and may refer to: Ice skating *Ice skating, moving on ice by using ice skates **Figure skating, a sport in which individuals, ...

and is the setting for the iconic painting, ''

The Skating Minister ''The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch'', better known by its shorter title ''The Skating Minister'', is a late 18th-century oil painting attributed to Henry Raeburn, now in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. Because th ...

'', by Thomson's artistic acquaintance,

Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...

. The subject of the painting is not Thomson however, but Robert Walker, minister of the

Canongate Kirk The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It i ...

References

External links

* * *
John Thomson on the Gazetteer for Scotland

John Thomson at the Tate Gallery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, John 1778 births 1840 deaths 18th-century Scottish painters 18th-century Scottish male artists Scottish male painters 19th-century Scottish painters People from Dailly Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Scottish landscape painters Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Royal Scottish Academicians 19th-century Scottish male artists People of the Scottish Enlightenment