RSA Scottish Art
The Singing Children
 | Artist: George Watson |
| Title: The Singing Children | |
| Year: c. 1811- 18 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: George Watson studied in the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and went on to become a leading portrait painter in Scotland and President of the Royal Scottish Academy.In this painting, The Singing Children, the artist is showing us three anonymous children grouped in an ambiguous setting. The eldest girl holds a songbook from which they sing to an unseen audience. Following the custom of the time, they are dressed in adult-style costume. The little boy (probably five or six years old) has been “breeched”. This means that he is wearing trousers instead of the traditional dress that male infants wore. He assumes a tense, uncomfortable pose with his hands in his jacket pockets. His two sisters wear the high-waisted dresses typical of the early nineteenth century. They seem more relaxed in the circumstances. The painting has been very carefully executed, displaying realism with smoothness and subtlety. There are few visible brush strokes in the image, with the exception of the highlights on the girls' dresses. The palette is warm and earthy, with the addition of red and white to lift the image. The dark background keeps the viewer's eye focused on the brighter foreground and the faces of the children. The diffused light has produced very soft shadows, skilfully painted on the faces of the children.The three faces are kept close to each other to emphasise the closeness of the three siblings. The background is not only dark in tone but is very indistinct. Very little can be seen except some washes of colour. It is possible that a cloth backdrop was simply used to create a background to the group. Many studio photographers still use this technique, using large rolls of coloured paper hanging from the ceiling of the studio to create plain backgrounds for portraits. | |
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