The Cromartie Fool
About this artwork
This grinning man holds a kail stock with a burning candle stuck in the top. This helps identify him as the 'fool' or jester of a Scottish laird, who probably presided over Halloween festivities, such as those described in Robert Burns' poetry. Traditionally, unmarried men and women pulled up kail stocks to confirm the character of their future partner. A candle was then stuck into the end to make a torch. This portrait, painted in 1731, was possibly part of a series depicting Scottish clan members.
Updated April 2022
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artist:Richard Waitt (1684 - 1733) Scottish
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title:The Cromartie Fool
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date created:1731
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:78.00 x 56.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 2000
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accession number:PG 3256
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gallery:
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subject:
Richard Waitt
Richard Waitt
Waitt specialised in portraiture, but began his career as a decorative painter. His first recorded work is a coat of arms for the Earl of Hopetoun. He may have trained in the Edinburgh studio of the painter John Scougal and seems to have produced several different types of painting, notably still...
