RSA Scottish Art
The Children of David Allan
 | Artist: David Allan |
| Title: The Children of David Allan | |
| Year: c. 1790 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: Portraiture | |
| Source: RSA | |
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| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: David Allan was one of the first painters in Scotland to record the everyday life of ordinary people, but he also painted historical subjects and portraits in watercolour. This portrait, The Children of David Allan, was painted not only through the eyes of an artist but also that of a father. It probably illustrates Allan's eldest daughter Barbara and another unidentified child of his. It was produced at a time when children were often regarded as adults in miniature and dressed in adult style. However Allan celebrated their childhood by emphasising their freedom from social control.They wear loose fabrics and crawl around freely in the open air. Such a painting was a valuable record of loved ones at a period when there was a high percentage of infant deaths. Although Barbara Allan survived into adulthood, three of her brothers and sisters died in infancy.This painting has been executed with loving care. This is the kind of detail which a loving father lavishes on a painting of his own child, purely to express his own love, not to please a client. The smoothness of the baby's skin and the very soft light have been rendered with very delicate shading. The folds in the fabric of the child's garment have been carefully rendered. The poor standard of domestic lighting in the 18th century creates dark surroundings but this focuses all the viewer's attention on the baby, who almost glows in the halflight.The mood of the painting is peaceful, loving and innocent. Allan has expressed his love for his children here by showing Barbara in a playful pose and with shining, innocent eyes. The warm candlelight adds to the sense of security and comfort of the family home. In an age before photographs allowed every parent to document the growth of their children, this is a loving snapshot of a baby by an adoring parent. | |