Memorial window to Rev John Thomson, Duddingston Kirk

Rev John Thomson FRSE Hon RSA (1 September 177828 October 1840) was a Scottish minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

and noted amateur landscape painter. He was the minister of

Duddingston Kirk Duddingston Kirk is a Parish Church in the Church of Scotland, located adjacent to Holyrood Park in Duddingston Village, on the east side of the City of Edinburgh. Regular services are held at the kirk, conducted by the minister, Rev Dr James ...

from 1805 to 1840.

Life

The youngest of eight children, Thomson was born in the manse at

Dailly Dailly ( gd, Dail Mhaol Chiarain) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the Water of Girvan, south of Maybole, and east of Old Dailly. "New Dailly", as it was originally known, was laid out in the 1760s as a coal-mining ...

, Ayrshire, the fourth son of Mary Hay and her husband, Rev Thomas Thomson, the local parish minister of the

. He was educated at Dailly Parish School. From an early age, he displayed an aptitude for drawing and painting and, inspired by the Ayrshire countryside, developed a love for landscape painting. In 1791 he enrolled at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

to study law and theology, and in 1793 he transferred to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

to study divinity. While there, he met many people who were prominent in Edinburgh artistic circles, including

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

, and

Alexander Nasmyth Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, the latter of whom who gave him art lessons. After graduating, Thomson returned to Ayrshire and was licensed as minister of the

, and subsequently

ordain Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

ed as minister of Dailly in 1800 in place of his father. In 1805 he was translated to

Duddingston Duddingston ( sco, Duddiston) is a historic village in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Holyrood Park. Origins and etymology The estate wherein Duddingston Village now lies was first recorded in lands granted to the Tironensian monks ...

near Edinburgh and became the most famous minister of the local

Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...

, remaining in the role until death in 1840. In 1814 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

, Archibald Alison, and

Sir David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics ...

. Whilst at Duddingston a very fine portrait of him was painted by

Robert Scott Lauder Robert Scott Lauder (25 June 1803 – 21 April 1869) was a Scottish artist who described himself as a "historical painter". He was one of the original members of the Royal Scottish Academy. Life and work Lauder was born at Silvermills, E ...

who married Thomson's daughter Isabella in 1833. Thomson died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

at Duddingston manse in 1840, having spent 41 years in the ministry. He was succeeded by Rev James Macfarlane. His grave in Duddingston churchyard is marked by a distinctive stone sarcophagus.

Artistic aspects

Thomson had a studio at the foot of the manse garden on the shore of Duddingston Loch. Later, this was replaced by Duddingston Tower, a structure designed for Duddingston Curling Society in 1825 by

William Playfair William Playfair (22 September 1759 – 11 February 1823), a Scottish engineer and political economist, served as a secret agent on behalf of Great Britain during its war with France. The founder of graphical methods of statistics, Playfai ...

. The Society used the ground floor as their clubhouse, and Thomson used the upper floor of the tower, known today as "Thomson's Tower", as his studio. The move to Duddingston allowed him to renew his acquaintances with men of influence in artistic circles and develop his art. Like his early teacher, Naysmith, Thomson believed in working outdoors, observing directly from nature. Influenced by the techniques of

Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: People *Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose) Places * 223 Rosa, an asteroid *Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States * Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, ...

Lorrain Lorrain may refer to: * Claude Lorrain (1600–82), a 17th-century French artist of the baroque style * Lorrain language, a Romance dialect spoken in Lorraine region in France and Gaume region in Belgium See also * Lorain (disambiguation) * Lor ...

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for ...

, Raeburn and renowned English landscape artist

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

, he developed a broad Romantic style, and became a landscape artist with an established reputation. This allowed him to augment his small

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work p ...

and become quite wealthy through the sale of his paintings. In addition to Scott, Naysmith and Raeburn, Thomson was friendly with writer and fellow amateur artist,

Thomas Dick Lauder Sir Thomas Dick Lauder of Fountainhall, 7th Baronet, FRSE FSA(Scot) LLD (13 August 178429 May 1848) was a Scottish author. He served as Secretary to the Board of Manufactures (1839–), on the Herring Fisheries Board, at the Royal Instituti ...

, and such was Thomsons reputation that in 1818 he entertained Turner at his studio, who is said to have remarked of the outlook over the Loch: "By God sir, I envy you that piece of water." Thomson went on to collaborate with Turner in producing engravings to illustrate Walter Scott's ''Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland'', published in 1826. Recognising his talent, Thomson's congregation nominated him to become a member of the Association of Artists in Edinburgh. He went on to receive honorary memberships of the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy.

Family

In 1801 he married Isabella Ramsay (1782-1809) daughter of Rev John Ramsay of Kirkmichael. Together they had a daughter Margaret (1806-1827). Their son Thomas Thomson MD (1802-1873) became

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Stratford-upon-Avon. John Thomson (1803-1870) was a Captain in the HEICS. Their daughter Isabella Thomson (1809-1869) married the artist

.Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana by Hew Scott In 1813, following Isabella's death he married Frances Ingram Spence (1779-1845). She was the widow of Martin Dalrymple of Fordel. They had further sons: Francis Thomson MD (1814-1858); Henry Francis (b.1819); Edward (b.1821); and two daughters, Emily (b.1816) and Mary Helen (b.1817). His older brother was the antiquarian

Thomas Thomson Thomas Thomson may refer to: * Tom Thomson (1877–1917), Canadian painter * Thomas Thomson (apothecary) (died 1572), Scottish apothecary * Thomas Thomson (advocate) (1768–1852), Scottish lawyer * Thomas Thomson (botanist) (1817–1878), Scottis ...

FRSE.

Memorials

Thomson's nephew Lochhart Thomson had installed a memorial stained glass window in 1903 in Duddingston Kirk. It stands immediately to the west of the pulpit.

Anecdotes

*In addition to being known for his landscape paintings, Thomson is often credited with giving rise to the famous Lowland Scots adage " We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns", which as early as 1847 was described as "an expression of mutual good fellowship very frequently heard in Scotland." However, there is some evidence that it may predate John Thomson, and there is also a

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

version. *One version attributing the origin of the adage to Thomson is that his first wife died after they had five children, he then married a widow who already had five children, and this second marriage produced another four children. When his wife then made introductions to visitors and tried to explain which family the various children belonged to, Thomson would interrupt her with the statement that "They're a' Jock Thomson's bairns". It may also be accounted for by his general reputation for forgiveness and inclusiveness, for example his reputed disapproval of the excessive use of withdrawing communion tokens to exclude parishioners from taking communion. This might explain an already extant old saying being adopted to refer to him. *To ensure privacy to paint in his studio, Thomson named the Tower "Edinburgh", in order that casual visitors to the Manse could be informed by his staff that he was unavailable, as he had gone to "Edinburgh". *Duddingston Loch has a long historical connection with

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

and

skating Skating involves any sports or recreational activity which consists of traveling on surfaces or on ice using skates, and may refer to: Ice Skating *Ice skating, moving on ice by using ice skates **Figure skating, a sport in which individuals, ...

and is the setting for the iconic painting, ''

The Skating Minister ''The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch'', better known by its shorter title ''The Skating Minister'', is an oil painting attributed to Henry Raeburn in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. Because the painting was passed ...

'', by Thomson's artistic acquaintance,

Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...

. The subject of the painting is not Thomson however, but Robert Walker, minister of the

Canongate Kirk The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It i ...

References

External links

* *
John Thomson on the Gazetteer for Scotland

John Thomson at the Tate Gallery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, John 1778 births 1840 deaths 18th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 19th-century Scottish painters People from South Ayrshire Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Scottish landscape painters Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Royal Scottish Academicians 19th-century Scottish male artists