John Clerk of Eldin
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Glasgow Museums holds 68 etchings by John Clerk of Eldin Clerk of Eldin was a Scottish amateur topographical artist. His artistic output is significant, with over 100 etchings made between the years 1770 and 1778 that depict a range of Scottish landscapes, buildings and everyday activities. He travelled widely throughout the British Isles recording the scenery in journals and notebooks that have been carefully preserved to this day. After starting out as a merchant he continued the family occupation in the coal industry, managing and later part-owning a coalfield at Pendreich, near Lasswade. His other interests included history and antiquities, and geology, which he studied during field trips across Scotland with his good friend Dr James Hutton between 1785 and 1788. He was also fascinated by engineering and the navy, publishing a tract on Naval Tactics in 1790. Etching is a method of printmaking where lines are ‘etched’, or bitten by acid, on to a copper plate which is then covered in ink and put through a press to create an image on paper. His connection with the artist Paul Sandby is evident in his earlier etchings, while his tastes in architecture are similar to that of his brother-in-law Robert Adam. Clerk of Eldin was also influenced by European etchers such as Rembrandt, Claude Lorrain and Weirotter. However, his etchings of Scottish views always retain a distinctly Scottish character that reveals his intimate topographic knowledge of his home country. Text submitted by Ailsa Hutton (University of Glasgow)
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