. John Pettie, , ; . At the Academy of 1878 was ColinHunter, , in costume of the SixteenthCentury; and the following year saw theexhibition of A. P. Watt, Esq., as a Scholarin the Time of Titian, which by many is con-sidered to mark the artists highest achievementas a portrait - painter. It is remarkable bothfor its tenderness and for its strength, for itssober treatment of background and figure throw-ing into relief the fine flesh-tints of the face andhands. That hand low down to the right of thecanvas is a masterly piece of painting. You feelthat it is warm flesh, alive and
. John Pettie, , ; . At the Academy of 1878 was ColinHunter, , in costume of the SixteenthCentury; and the following year saw theexhibition of A. P. Watt, Esq., as a Scholarin the Time of Titian, which by many is con-sidered to mark the artists highest achievementas a portrait - painter. It is remarkable bothfor its tenderness and for its strength, for itssober treatment of background and figure throw-ing into relief the fine flesh-tints of the face andhands. That hand low down to the right of thecanvas is a masterly piece of painting. You feelthat it is warm flesh, alive and palpitating, withbones beneath the covering tissue of skin. This was one of the last portraits in costumewhich Pettie painted. Though he revelled inopportunity for glowing colour he was not sodependent upon it as he himself supposed. Aportrait of Sheriff Strachan, painted in thefollowing year (1879), bears witness to this. Thelawyers face, with its shrewd eyes and its firm PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM BLACK{Size of vrigiaal, 50i x 31i.). PORTRAITS 151 mouth, is seen with alertness and is boldly picture is all the more interesting because ofthe reticence of its colour. The somewhat pallidface, the grey wig, and the black gown offered novantage point for the rich colour that the painterloved. But wig, white collar, neck-band, andgown gave opportunity for blacks and greys ofsuperb tonality. The quality of the greys alonemight well account for an expression of enthusiasticadmiration on the part of Matthew Maris, himselfa master of grey tones, when he saw the picturelately. Among Petties portraits of his fellow-artiststhose of George Boughton, Briton Riviere, andColin Hunter have already been more are in the Macdonald Art Collectionat Aberdeen, which contains a series, unique inthis country, of portraits of painters. Its historyhas some interest. In 1880 Sir John Millaiswas staying at Kepplestone with Mr. and Sir George Reids studio was close by
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