Study for 'The Preaching of John Knox before the Lords of the Congregation, 10th June 1559'

The Scottish Protestant reformer and historian John Knox returned from a 13 year exile and appeared in the pulpit of the parish church of St Andrew's on 10 June 1559. He preached his doctrine of reformed worship, and convinced the provost, bailies and inhabitants to agree to his demands. Wilkie worked for several years on a large painting of The Preaching of John Knox before the Lords of the Congregation, 10th June 1559 (Tate Britain), in which all the figures are identifiable and include James Stewart, Earl of Moray, Alexander Cunningham, Earl of Glencairn, and Lord and Lady Argyll.
Based on McCrie's 1812 Life of Knox, Wilkie began working on drawings (now Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), and an oil sketch (Petworth House) for the picture in 1821, but did not complete it until 1832.