David Octavius Hill

David Octavius ​​Hill ( born May 20, 1802 in Perth, Scotland, † May 17 1870 in Edinburgh) was a Scottish painter, lithographer and photographer. Together with his partner Robert Adamson, he is among the pioneers of photography.

Life and work

Hill was born in 1802 in Perth, Scotland, the son of a bookseller. He was married twice, his first wife since 1837, with Ann Macdonald and his second wife, the sculptress Amelia Paton since 1862.

His first publication was 1821 Sketches of Scenery in Perthshire. Then he studied from 1822 with Andrew Wilson in Edinburgh at the School of Design. He was co-founder in 1825 of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, whose secretary he was from 1830 to 1869.

As a painter, he devoted himself to landscape painting and became a popular artist. His paintings are, however, now rated as average and mediocre.

In 1840 appeared The Land of Burns, with 61 steel engravings illustrated the Hill to the life and work of the Scottish poet Robert Burns.

1843 Hill wanted to paint the founding meeting of the Scottish Free Church. To this end, he consulted with Sir David Brewster, who suggested him, together with the chemist Robert Adamson to use the new invention of photography to capture the 470 church representatives. It created numerous Calotypes by the method of William Henry Fox Talbot, the accomplished as a template for the first 1866 152 cm served · 345 cm big picture. The picture hangs in the Hall Presbytery of the Free Church of Scotland in Edinburgh

Between 1843 and 1847 he ran a group photo studio with Robert Adamson ( 1821-1848 ). Adamson was responsible rather for the technical part, while Hill took care of the structure and composition of the motifs. From the joint work written between 1500 to 3000 Calotypes. The subjects range from portraits of famous contemporaries, over landscapes and street scenes, to scenes from the simple life of Scottish workers.

After the early death of Adamson Hill led the studio on only a few months. He returned to painting and then took the photograph almost exclusively as a tool for his paintings.

His grave is located in the Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh.

The German Photographic Academy ( until 1988 German society Lichtbildner ) awards since 1955, David Octavius ​​Hill Medal.

Work

  • The First General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland
  • Sketches of Scenery in Perthshire - 1821
  • One Hundred Calotype Sketches - Edinburgh, 1848.
  • The Land Of Burns: A Series Of Portraits And Landscapes. - 2 volumes, Edinburgh, 1840.

Fishermen's wives in St Andrews

Fishermen's wives in Newhaven

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