John Beugo
Robert Burns, 1759 - 1796. Poet
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National Galleries of Scotland collection. Photo, National Galleries of Scotland.
John Beugo, Robert Burns, 1759 - 1796. Poet
About this artwork
This portrait of Scottish poet Robert Burns is a line engraving, based on a drawing by Archibald Skirving. In its turn, Skirving’s drawing was inspired by Alexander Nasmyth’s famous half-length portrait of Burns – one of the very few portraits created from the life. Beugo’s engraving combines the fashionable dress and rural background of Nasmyth’s painting with the idealised, dreamy features of Skirving’s portrait drawing of Burns. All three works are in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. This engraving was part of a large bequest made to the Galleries in 1886 by William Findlay Watson, who was a keen collector of prints and drawings.
Updated before 2020
- Artists:
- John Beugo (1759 - 1841) English
- After:
- Archibald Skirving (1749 - 1819) Scottish
- Title:
- Robert Burns, 1759 - 1796. Poet
- Date:
- 1801
- Materials:
- Line engraving on paper
- Measurements:
- 10.16 x 7.62 cm
- Object type:
- Work on paper
- Credit line:
- Bequeathed by William Finlay Watson 1886
- Accession number:
- SP IV 29.13
- Depicted:
- Robert Burns
- Subjects:
- Burns Scottish literature Writing and literature
True colours
John Beugo
Printmaker John Beugo was born in Edinburgh in 1759. He was the leading Scottish engraver of his day and made reproductive prints after portraits by Henry Raeburn, Joshua Reynolds and Alexander Nasmyth. Beugo was a friend of Robert Burns, and his portrait engravings of the poet are among his best…
Archibald Skirving
Skirving was born near Haddington, East Lothian. After being educated locally, he began work as a junior clerk at the Customs Office in Edinburgh. It is thought that Skirving also studied at the Trustees' Academy in the city at the same time, while painting miniatures at night. By the end of 1777…
