Description:Oil painting by David Wilkie (1785-1841).
‘Grace before Meat‘ shows three generations of a family saying a prayer before sharing a meal together. In paintings like this, Wilkie presented an intimate insight into early 19th century domestic routines. These paintings suggested the ordinariness of people’s lives, while also often including an entertaining or improving narrative. For contemporary audiences, a painting like ‘Grace before Meat’ emphasised the stability of the family and the importance of passing traditional values from one generation to the next.