Hunted Down 1877

John Pettie’s painting presents a figure rendered in oil on canvas, a traditional choice of material and technique. Yet, what's striking here is the juxtaposition of the romantic subject matter with the artist's engagement with materiality. Pettie meticulously layers paint to create texture, mimicking the ruggedness of the landscape. Look at how the artist applied the pigment thickly onto the canvas, conjuring up the rough surfaces of the cave, the woven texture of the kilt, and the cold hard steel of the sword. The weaving of the kilt is particularly important because it ties to labor, politics, and cultural identity. A garment made with intense labor, and fraught with historical associations of clans and tradition. The figure’s vulnerability humanizes the Scottish Highland soldier, challenging the traditional heroic portrayals in academic painting. Ultimately, Pettie's attention to the tangible qualities of paint and fabric invites us to contemplate the social and cultural significance imbued within this dramatic scene, blurring the boundaries between fine art and craft.