About this artwork
Son of a Scottish wine merchant, Black was born in Bordeaux and educated in Belfast and Glasgow. Black was a brilliant chemist, he was the first to identify carbon dioxide within air and developed the theories of latent and specific heat, which paved the way for James Watt's improvements to the steam engine. He was a great teacher and active member of intellectual society in Edinburgh; his friends included the philosopher, David Hume and the economist, Adam Smith.
Updated before 2020
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artist:David Martin (1737 - 1797) Scottish
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title:Professor Joseph Black, 1728 - 1799. Chemist
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date created:1787
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:126.80 x 102.00 cm; Framed: 147.80 x 123.60 x 8.00 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Private Collection on long term loan to the National Galleries of Scotland
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accession number:PGL 259
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
David Martin
David Martin
David Martin was born in Anstruther, Fife, the son of a schoolmaster. He trained under Allan Ramsay, working in his fellow Scot's London studio from about 1752. In 1755 he joined Ramsay in Rome and probably returned with him to London in 1757, working as his chief assistant, producing copies of...