Art Speaks Project

(John MacWhirter)

Presented to Mrs Khouri

From: Ajiyad Mohamed Fouad

Group: 302

February 22 2022
John MacWhirter was born in 1839 at Slateford in Scotland. Sadly, he died in 1911. He was
13 when his father died, an event which caused him to leave school at Peebles and to enter as
an apprentice into the business of Oliver and Boyd, the booksellers and publishers. But
already the love of art was strong in him, and after six months he broke his articles,
determined to become a painter. John Macwhirter studied at the trustee’s Academy and
formed a lifelong friendship with fellow student William McTaggart, whose artistic influence
can be seen in MacWhirter’s later work. He was known for painting coastal views and
landscapes. He came to America in 1877 and spent several years in California. He was
internationally known as an etcher, he was à member of London’s Royal Academy. Also, this
man traveled extensively, visiting Germany, Austria, Italy and Norway, where he painted
local scenery and plant life. He also painted romantic views of the Scottish Highlands,
Islands and Lochs. Here are some of his popular paintings: June in the Austrian Tyrol, The
Gates of the Forest, A Venetian Canal, Silver Birches and finally the one thatI will be talking
about: The Valley of Slaughter, Skye.

This painting, The Valley of Slaughter, Sky, was made in 1876. It is currently at the Montreal
Museum of Fine Arts. This painting is landscape art (as I said, John MacWhirter was known
for painting landscapes). The painting was made with oil on canvas. The painter decided to
make this painting as à gift to the Lord of Strathcona and his family. In this painting, John
MacWhirter illustrates the magnificent force of nature in his native Scotland, where he was
primarily known as a watercolourist. The scene depicted here is on the Isle of Skye, in the
Hebrides, known for its mountain scenery and its history, associated with the Norse invasion
and settlement. In 1896,MacWhirter provided illustrations for an article in The Magazine of
Art describing the beauty of Skye’s landscape, where the play of light and shade at morning
and at evening upon these marvelous crags and peaks is often seen under driving mist and
storm cloud, giving them a most impressive appearance. MacWhirter’s paintings exemplify
what the celebrated English critic John Ruskin described as “the contemplative order” of
landscape.

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Enough about the painter and the painting. Let's talk about me (the narrator). My name is
Ajiyad Mohamed Fouad and I am 14 years old. I currently study at College Saint-Louis. In
my free time I like to watch anime, read manga, play video games, eat (mostly snacks) and
sleep. During my life I accomplished à lot of things. Like when I got a trophy for winning in à
math competition at my primary school, or when I got a certificate for playing à video game.
Also, one of my proudest accomplishments is that I finished more than 100 different anime. In
the future, I would like to find more anime to watch that are interesting and I would like to
have better grades in my subjects. Sometimes, I like to draw even if I don't know how. During
this project I chose this painting that has mountains, à river and some dark clouds.

I chose this painting because as crazy as it seems, I can relate to this painting. First of all, I
once went camping with my family near some mountains and seeing this painting made me
remember à lot of good memories which makes me really happy. I remembered (in à tent)
waking up and seeing mountains, rivers and à sun. That is why I want to take off the fog from
the painting and add a sun and blue sky so that I can see it just as I remembered. Also, it
makes me think of à particular anime that I saw and liked a lot. Finally, one of my last
modifications is that I want to make the grass more pale so it can be just as my memorie of
that wonderful trip.

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Bibliography
Lock and Whitfield. John Macwhirter, Ara, Hrsa, Scottish Painter, 1883, [En Ligne],
https://www.allposters.com/-sp/John-Macwhirter-Ara-Hrsa-Scottish-Painter-1883-Posters_i1
3355951_.htm?UPI=Q10LT0D0&PODConfigID=14258388&sOrigID=7286 (Page consultée
le 20 février)

THE MALVERN HILLS. Biography of John Macwhirter, [En ligne],

http://www.the-malvern-hills.uk/other_history_macwhirter.htm (Page consultée le 21 fevrier
2022)

Tate. John MacWhirter 1839–1911, [En Ligne],

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/john-macwhirter-367 (Page consultée le 21 fevrier 2022)

Royal Academy. John MacWhirter | Artist |Royal Academy of Arts, [En Ligne],
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/john-macwhirter-ra (Page consultée le 21
fevrier 2022)

National Galleries Scotland. John MacWhirter| National Galleries of Scotland, [En Ligne],
https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/john-macwhirter (Page consultée le
21 fevrier 2022)

ASKART. John MacWhirter - Biography, [En Ligne],

https://www.askart.com/artist/John_A_MacWhirter/115807/John_A_MacWhirter.aspx (Page
consultée le 21 fevrier 2022)

WIKIDATA. The valley of Slaughter, Skye, [En Ligne],

https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18523033 (Page consultée le 22 fevrier 2022)

Artist At Home. The Valley of Slaughter, Skye - Victorian Artist At Home, [En
Ligne],https://artistsathome.emorydomains.org/exhibits/show/victorian-artists-at-home/item/4
66 (Page consultée le 22 février 2022)

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The Valley of Slaughter,Skye, [En Ligne],

https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/works/4629/ (Page consultée le 22 fevrier 2022)