The Skating Minister

Infobox Painting|

title=The Reverend Robert Walker
Skating on Duddingston Loch
artist=Henry Raeburn
year=1790s
type=oil on canvas
height=30
width=25
museum=National Gallery of Scotland

"The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch", better known by its shorter title "The Skating Minister", is an oil painting by Sir Henry Raeburn in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. It was practically unknown until about 1949; today, however, it is one of Scotland's best known paintings. It is considered an icon of Scottish culture, painted during one of the most remarkable periods in the country's history, the Scottish Enlightenment.

The Reverend Robert Walker

The clergyman portrayed in this painting is the Reverend Robert Walker. He was a Church of Scotland minister who was born on April 30, 1755 in Monkton, Ayrshire. As a child, Walker's father had been minister of the Scots Kirk in Rotterdam, thus the young Robert almost certainly learnt to skate on the frozen canals of the Netherlands. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1770 at the age of fifteen. He married Jean Fraser in 1778 and had five children. He became a member of the Royal Company of Archers in 1779 and their chaplain in 1798.

He was minister of the Canongate Kirk as well as being a member of the "Edinburgh Skating Society", the oldest skating club in Britain. They would meet on Duddingston Loch as shown in the painting, or on Lochend loch to its northeast between Edinburgh and Leith, when these lochs were suitably frozen.

Attribution controversy

In March 2005, a curator from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery suggested that the painting was by the French artist Henri-Pierre Danloux, rather than Sir Henry Raeburn. Once this information had been brought to the attention of the Gallery, the label on the painting was altered to read "Recent research has suggested that the picture was actually painted....by Henri-Pierre Danloux." Since this time, many people have debated the idea of this. It has been argued that Danloux was in Edinburgh during the 1790s, which happens to be the time period when "The Skating Minister "was created. Supposedly the canvas and scale of the painting appears to be that of a French painter, although Raeburn critics argue otherwise. Despite continuing controversy about its attribution, "The Skating Minister" is being sent to New York City for Tartan Day, an important Scottish celebration. This is a crucial event because it shows that this painting is a vital part of the Scottish culture and is still believed to be painted by a Scot.

Bibliography

* "The Skating Minister: The Story Behind the Painting". Written by Lynne Gladstone-Millar, this book tells the story behind this painting. It gives details about the artist, the Reverend, and the setting of the painting. It was published in 2005 by Woodstocker Books.

ources

*http://www.scotlandsource.com/henry-raeburn/w1.htm
*http://heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=261&id=2415402005
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4315433.stm
*http://woodstockerbooks.com/Woodstocker_Books/b_preview.php?id=444
* [http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collections/artist_search.php?objectId=5327 National Galleries of Scotland - Online Collections]