The Victorian age was unarguably defined by progress. The social reforms, technological advancements and medical breakthroughs of the period radically transformed Britain like never before. Yet for artists and the art-going public, it was the past that held an enduring appeal.
The Scottish painter John Pettie was just one artist among many who responded to this increasing interest in British history. He devoted his entire career to putting Scottish and English history on canvas, and by doing so achieved considerable fame and wealth.
The Warrior (Self Portrait in Sixteenth-Century Armour)
John Pettie (1839–1893) 
Pettie was born in Edinburgh in 1839 and studied at the city's Trustees' Academy under Robert Scott Lauder. His artistic talent showed itself early and in 1859, aged 20, he exhibited a work at the Royal Scottish Academy, an institution to which he would later receive honorary membership.
In 1862 he moved to London, where he became a central figure among a community of expatriate Scottish painters that included Thomas Graham and William Quiller Orchardson. In fact, all three artists shared a studio in Fitzroy Square.
Pettie's love of history is evident in an early work titled Cromwell's Saints.
Although not based on any known text, it may have been inspired by a description of Roundhead troops in Walter Scott's novel Woodstock, which was set after the English Civil War.
Pettie continued his interest in Civil War-era subjects with A Drumhead Court Martial, exhibited at the 1865 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition to much fanfare.
The title comes from a popular phrase denoting the improvised use of an up-turned drum around which a military tribunal would take place. Although Pettie relied on his imagination rather than historical fact for his picture, he nevertheless found an enthusiastic audience eager for detailed, colourful depictions of past times.
His next major painting focused on one of the darkest chapters of British history: the persecution of women accused of witchcraft.
An Arrest for Witchcraft in the Olden Time
1866
John Pettie (1839–1893) 
In An Arrest for Witchcraft in the Olden Time, Pettie shows a frail, old widow hauled through a medieval town by three well-armed men. Her hands are bound. Behind them is a baying mob screaming for her blood. This painting helped cement Pettie's reputation as a highly accomplished painter of British history; he was elected an Associate member of the Royal Academy at the age of just 27.
Despite his move to London and his rapid rise in the city's art scene, Pettie did not neglect his Scottish roots and frequently painted subjects inspired by his homeland. Tussle for the Keg shows a clash of two national stereotypes.
We are shown a violent struggle between a red-headed Highlander and a dour Lowland excise officer – the keg of smuggled spirits explains the cause of their fierce struggle. By showing the smuggler in a tattered kilt, deerskin tunic and hide sandals, Pettie hints at the poverty experienced by Highland communities.
With his reputation as a history painter firmly established, Pettie began to paint specific figures and historical episodes, such as The Disgrace of Cardinal Wolsey.
Here we see a solemn Cardinal Wolsey in the midst of his downfall as Henry VIII's chief statesman. Alongside him is the Duke of Norfolk who is taking leave of him. The Art Journal heaped praise on the painting, stating, 'Mr Pettie has given in this well-studied work the full gauge of his powers. The figure of Wolsey can never be forgotten.'
A similarly solemn mood is also evident in The Flag of Truce.
Three men, one carrying a white flag, are followed by a crowd of women, one of whom bends to kiss the hand of the principal figure who holds a sealed parchment. Here, Pettie proved himself adept at creating a strong emotional feeling, which appealed to the Victorian fondness for sentimental narratives.
Upon his full election to the Royal Academy, Pettie, perhaps unsurprisingly, opted for a Scottish subject for his diploma work. Jacobites, 1745 shows a group of Highlanders listening to the reading of an important document.
Like his fellow Scot, William Quiller Orchardson, Pettie used empty space as an arresting visual device – to add realism and create a sense of atmospheric tension and drama. John Ruskin praised the 'real pathos and most subtle expression' of the group of Highlanders.
The theme of conspiratorial skulduggery was a favourite for Pettie. A State Secret shows a cardinal burning a mysterious document while a monk in the shadows looks on in shock.
The artist's cousin, Mrs Andrew Ker, repeatedly burned numerous sheets of paper so that Pettie could achieve the right effect.
As if to contrast his shadowy interior scenes, Pettie also painted pictures of strident solitary figures in dramatic outdoor settings. The Highland Outpost shows a clansman, armed with sword and shield, standing in statuesque grandeur against a backdrop of loch and mountains.
John Pettie (1839–1893) 
This painting is a quintessential example of Pettie's unapologetic patriotism and romanticism, a combination that proved to be a very successful formula.
When he wasn't painting historical subjects, Pettie was much in demand as a portrait painter. The most interesting of his portraits is A Knight of the Seventeenth Century, which is actually a portrait of the Scottish novelist William Black.
Black, like his friend Pettie, loved history and was no doubt enthusiastic at donning a medieval costume for his portrait. Pettie owned at least two full suits of armour and they can be seen in many of his paintings, most notably in The Sally.
The act of violent physical confrontation was another reocurring theme in Pettie's art. In Sword and Dagger Fight, the viewer is given a front-row seat as two men armed with rapiers and daggers duel to the death.
The exact reason for their deadly combat is unknown, but such historical scenes of masculine aggression played into highly romanticised notions of chivalry and violence held by the Victorians.
Another compelling two-person narrative is captured within The Duke of Monmouth's Interview with James II.
The Duke of Monmouth's Interview with James II
c.1882
John Pettie (1839–1893) 
After a failed rebellion, the Duke of Monmouth lies bound on the floor pleading for his life to an unimpressed King. Monmouth met his end at Tower Hill in 1685. Once again, Pettie made effective use of a sparsely furnished setting to give full weight to the human drama on show. Critics were unanimous in their praise for the painting.
In 1884 Pettie painted what is arguably his most famous work, The Vigil.
The painting shows a young man nearing the end of a night-long vigil before his knighting ceremony; this was a custom of the Middle Ages. The medieval interior setting was based on St Bartholomew's church in Smithfield, London. The Art Journal called the painting 'a work of rare impressive quality.' It was purchased by the Chantry Bequest for the nation.
In a time of rapid change, the Victorians frequently looked back to a pre-industrial age, which reflected a growing desire to understand their own history. The paintings of John Pettie, with their convincing veracity and highly original subjects, reflect this yearning for the past. His historical scenes of chivalry and betrayal, conspiracies and rebellions, brought an often-forgotten and long-since-vanished Britain back to life to the delight of audiences young and old.
Jonathan Hajdamach, independent art historian
This content was funded by the PF Charitable Trust
