In the picture at National Galleries of Scotland

Picture this!

Recently, eleven Members of the Grassmarket Community Project enjoyed their own private tour of the new Scottish Art section at the National Galleries of Scotland.

Caroline, our volunteer story-catcher, went along too…

Off to a good start

Our guides Tessa, Claire and Duncan offered us coffee and biscuits on arrival (always a good start)!

Claire then kicked off the tour whetting our appetite at the entrance,

‘The Scottish Art gallery invites you in to discover so much wonderful Scottishness inside.’

 

David really enjoyed the tour,

‘It was all excellent and informative. I learnt about new artists I had never heard of before.’

Our guides were passionate and knowledgeable and focused in on a few key pieces, to allow us to really scrutinise and understand the work. As guide Claire said,

‘Once you start exploring a painting in detail, a million stories emerge.’

Mysteries and familiar places

Tess showed us the Glasgow Boys (and Girls) section, looking at William York MacGregor’s ’ The Vegetable Stall.’ It’s a huge still life which would have been controversial and unusual in its day. It was made even more interesting as recent x-ray technology showed that originally the painting was much more traditional with a woman tending the stall. No one knows why Macgregor decided to change the painting, but it made it much more memorable and interesting, even for today’s observer.

We also looked at two old paintings of familiar places. John Drummond’s ‘The Porteous Mob’ reimagined a notoriously violent event in Edinburgh’s past, the lynching and eventual hanging of Captain John Porteous at the Grassmarket. The detail and complexity of the painting allowed thought-provoking conversations, not least about what has changed (and not) in the Grassmarket!

Similarly, David Octavius Hill’s painting ‘Edinburgh Old and New’ used very early photographs to ensure accurate painting of our city. Today it is a time capsule of what it was like in the 1840’s, including Greyfriars Kirk with no roof due to a fire the year before the painting was started!

Visiting the Monarch

No visit to see Scottish art would be complete without a detailed study of Landseer’s famous ‘Monarch of the Glen’ which was critiqued by our members. Landseer famously spent time in the Scottish Highlands to help his mental health. He drew hundreds of sketches which allowed him to studio paint the mighty Monarch almost solely from memory.

Some of us find the stag to be a rather cliched image of Scotland, others found it almost anthropomorphic and rather romantic in its painting. We all agreed it was an important piece of Scottish art which has been widely copied in popular culture, way beyond Scotland.

Reflections on the day

As with every good GCP trip, we finished off with a packed lunch and interesting discussion about the morning.

Art allows everyone to interpret and enjoy works for different reasons as it touches creeps into their soul. Elisa particularly liked the sweeping painting of Tantallon Castle by Alexander Nasmyth as she had recently visited on another GCP trip.

Gerry studied art in Edinburgh and was a graphic designer for over 30 years. He hadn’t been to the gallery for a while,

‘I forgot how nice it is here. I particularly enjoyed the McTaggart. The Monarch of the Glen almost felt regal or religious in its presentation. It was all so impressive.’

Our tour guides enjoyed our company too. Duncan thought we were ‘very engaged and had interesting opinions.’  Tess was interested in our varied knowledge and art backgrounds and Claire found us all ‘curious, making thoughtful observations about the art.’

As member John said,

‘Art can link you to the city you come from and make you think differently about things.’

Thanks to Tess, Claire and Duncan, we all did just that!

Look out for further tours of the gallery in the future or visit yourself any time, the Scottish section is free! It is also good to know that the gallery has audio tours and tours for the visually impaired. Also contact National Galleries of Scotland for more information on and how they support those with extra needs and/or accessibility issues.