Sheepwashing
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| Sheepwashing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | David Wilkie |
| Year | 1817 |
| Type | Oil on panel, landscape painting |
| Dimensions | 90 cm × 137 cm (35 in × 54 in) |
| Location | Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh |
Sheepwashing is an 1817 landscape painting by the British artist David Wilkie.[1] It depicts a rural scene of shepherds washing sheep near a watermill. Wilkie was an admirer of Dutch landscapes of the seventeenth century by Jacob van Ruisdael and Meindert Hobbema and the painting is reminiscent of their styles.[2] It has been described as the only "pure landscape" that Wilkie ever exhibited.[3]
The painting was displayed at the British Institution's annual exhibition in 1817.[4] It was inspired by sketches he had made during an 1815 visit to Wiltshire. The scene shows the village of Fisherton de la Mere on the River Wylye near Salisbury.[5] Today the painting is in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery, having been acquired in 1911.[6] A watercolour study for the work is in the collection of the Royal Academy in London.[7]
