THE ETCHINGS OF JOHN CLERK OF ELDIN 1728 - 1812
John Clerk of Eldin (1728–1812) was one of many remarkable figures who emerged from 18th-century Scotland during the Age of Enlightenment. Living and working within the intellectual circles of Edinburgh, he was connected with a number of leading contemporaries in art, science, and philosophy. Among his most enduring achievements is a remarkable body of more than one hundred landscape etchings produced between about 1770 and 1778–79.
Clerk travelled widely with sketchbook in hand, recording castles, ruins, and landscapes across Scotland. Encouraged by his “virtuosi” friends, he began to translate these drawings into etchings, teaching himself the technique at a time when the medium was little used by Scottish artists.
The resulting prints combine careful observation with a picturesque sensibility and reflect a growing appreciation of Scotland’s historic landscape during the later eighteenth century. Together they form an important visual record of the country’s architecture and scenery at a moment when interest in Scotland’s past and its landscapes was rapidly increasing.
The Etchings of John Clerk of Eldin
by Geoffrey Bertram
View of Edinburgh from Writes Houses an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Stirling from Kinnell an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Salisbury from Wilton Park an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Rothesay Castle an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Roslin Castle 1st Plate an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Ravensheugh 2nd Plate an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Pony-Y-Pridd an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Perth Bridge an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Part of Edinburgh from Kings Park an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
North Queensferry an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Newark Castle 1st Plate an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Newark Castle 2nd Plate an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Lochmaben Castle an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Lincluden Abbey an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Leith from the West an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Hillhead near Lasswade an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Haddington an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Farmhouse Kersewell an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Elan Stalker 2nd Plate an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Durham an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Dunfermline an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Dumfries from the Dock an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Dalkeith from the West an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Dairsie 2nd Plate an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Craigmillar Castle from the South West an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Craigmillar Castle from the South East an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Clackmannan Tower from the South West an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Castle Duart Mull an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
Borthwick Castle from the East an etching by John Clerk of Eldin
