Sheepwashing
David Wilkie, 1816
Sheepwashing shows a quiet countryside scene in which shepherds wash their flock beside a watermill. David Wilkie admired the Dutch landscape painters of the seventeenth century, and his picture echoes the manner of Jacob van Ruisdael and Meindert Hobbema in its broad views and calm, soft light. The scene draws on sketches he made during a trip to Wiltshire in 1815 and depicts the village of Fisherton de la Mere on the River Wylye, near Salisbury. It has been described as the only pure landscape Wilkie ever exhibited, which gives the work a distinct place in his output. It was shown in 1817 at the annual exhibition of the British Institution. Since 1911 it has belonged to the Scottish National Gallery. A watercolour study for the composition is held by the Royal Academy in London, a reminder of how carefully the artist planned the image before working in oil.
- Painter
- David Wilkie
- Date
- 1816
- Medium
- oil paint, panel
- Dimensions
- 90 × 137 cm
- Museum
- National Galleries Scotland, City of Edinburgh
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