Nicholas Tromans
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748625208
- eISBN:
- 9780748651313
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748625208.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This chapter is concerned with David Wilkie's representation of the human body, face and mind, and also addresses the expressions in Wilkie's pictures, which were often considered the bedrock of his ...
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This chapter is concerned with David Wilkie's representation of the human body, face and mind, and also addresses the expressions in Wilkie's pictures, which were often considered the bedrock of his realism. For Wilkie, the role of vision in social life was what was at stake, and this led him to more sophisticated interpretations of the mind–body problem than conventional art theory allowed. It is noted that, as a very young artist in Edinburgh, Wilkie had explored what expression might be, painting contorted faces which did not necessarily express any sustained passion, and basing a key work on the blush, the quintessential non-muscular facial expression. The chapter then explores some of the common features of Village Holiday, Wardrobe Ransacked, Blind-Man's Buff, Rabbit on the Wall: a candle-light amusement and the Penny Wedding.Less
This chapter is concerned with David Wilkie's representation of the human body, face and mind, and also addresses the expressions in Wilkie's pictures, which were often considered the bedrock of his realism. For Wilkie, the role of vision in social life was what was at stake, and this led him to more sophisticated interpretations of the mind–body problem than conventional art theory allowed. It is noted that, as a very young artist in Edinburgh, Wilkie had explored what expression might be, painting contorted faces which did not necessarily express any sustained passion, and basing a key work on the blush, the quintessential non-muscular facial expression. The chapter then explores some of the common features of Village Holiday, Wardrobe Ransacked, Blind-Man's Buff, Rabbit on the Wall: a candle-light amusement and the Penny Wedding.