David Hume, 1711 - 1776. Historian and philosopher
About this artwork
The philosopher and historian David Hume was a leading figure of the ‘Enlightenment’. This eighteenth-century movement sought to reform the intolerant societies of the past by fostering more open, rational and progressive values. Nevertheless, it was a period that continued to be dogged by prejudice and inequality, as reflected in Hume’s own views of other nations and racial groups. He wrote dismissively of the ‘cowardice’ and ‘slavish disposition’ of contemporary Italians. Recently, critics have drawn attention to his even more discriminatory attitudes towards Black Africans, whom he described as ‘naturally inferior to the whites’. Ramsay’s portrait of Hume gives no hint of this bigoted mentality but presents him as a self-confident ‘cosmopolitan’, whose experiences extended far beyond the confines of his own country.
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title:David Hume, 1711 - 1776. Historian and philosopher
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accession number:PG 1057
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materials:Oil on canvas
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date created:1766
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measurements:76.20 x 63.50 cm (framed: 95.80 x 82.50 x 7.80 cm)
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credit line:Bequeathed by Mrs Macdonald Hume to the National Gallery of Scotland and transferred
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photographer:Antonia Reeve
Allan Ramsay
Allan Ramsay
Ramsay, named after his father who was a poet, was internationally renowned for his outstanding portraits. He attended the new Academy of Saint Luke in Edinburgh and then continued his artistic education in Italy. He visited Rome, studying at the French Academy and Naples. British residents commissioned many portraits from…