Early days
From prehistoric times, the northern regions developed distinctive features. The earliest evidence in Scotland is Neolithic carvings. In Aberdeenshire, engraved stone spheres reveal geometric patterns, spirals and broken lines.
From the 7th century onwards, Christian art developed in the monasteries of the Hebrides. The first illuminated manuscripts are said to have come from the monastery of Saint Columba (Iona). The Book of Kells is the most beautiful example of this period. The poverty that hit the country, associated with the decline of Christianity, slowed down production until the Renaissance.The portraitists
The sixteenth century saw a slow revival. The first Scottish painters who began to make a name for themselves in the following century were portraitists. George Jamesone, born in Aberdeen in 1587, based his reputation on his portraits of local figures. It was at the behest of Charles I that Jamesone established his reputation. Visiting Edinburgh in 1633, the king invited him to reproduce portraits of all the former kings of Scotland. He also painted self-portraits and landscapes, always in a dark, neutral palette, with a concern for realism.
John Michael Wright (1617-1694) trained with Jamesone. A scholarly artist, he spent a long time in Rome. Considered a leader, he was appreciated for his realistic style. Like his master, he built his reputation on portraits of dignitaries.
Their works are now part of the collections of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, reserved for the most beautiful portraits in the world. The Scottish National Gallery is dedicated to Scottish artists.Scottish Romanticism
This movement, which affected all of Europe, appeared in Scotland at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Here too, it emphasized sentiment. One of its favourite subjects was the Ossianic cycle. The poems of Ossian, a third-century Scottish bard, translated by James MacPherson, were all the rage in Europe. Patriotic sentiment was awakened, and the Highlands revealed their attractions. The wilderness was glorified in dramatic compositions such as Jacob More's The Falls of the Clyde
. Alexander Runciman (1736-1785) is believed to be the first artist to have painted the Scottish landscape. The influence of Romanticism was evident until the early 19th century in the works of Henry Raeburn (1756-1823), Alexander Nasmyth and John Knox. Although he spent his entire career in Scotland, Raeburn was the first Scottish artist of international standing. This portrait painter defined Scottish distinctiveness by depicting men in tartans against the backdrop of the Scottish mountains. Born in Edinburgh, he travelled to Italy in 1786, as did Nasmyth. Nasmyth is known to have founded the Scottish landscape tradition. Knox, also a landscape artist, was the first to paint the Glasgow countryside.Glasgow Boys
From the end of the 19th century, Glasgow dominated the artistic scene, thanks to the Glasgow School of Arts, whose most famous pupil was undoubtedly Charles Rennie Mackintosh, master of Art Nouveau.
The Glasgow Boys group was opposed to academicism. These painters, who were active between 1887 and 1895, were influenced by the French Impressionists and were assisted by the Scottish colourists, whose strong works were inspired by Post-Impressionism and French Fauvism. The Glasgow Boys included MacGregor, James Guthrie, John Lavery, George Henry and Edward Walton.
At the same time, the Glasgow Girls (Jessie Newbery, Anne Macbeth, the sisters Margaret and Frances MacDonald) exhibit decorative art and design objects in a style that combines Art Nouveau and Celtic influences.Modern schools
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) influenced all areas of creativity. An architect, designer and watercolourist from the Arts and Craft movement, he was the leader of Scottish Art Nouveau. His refined style combines tradition and modernity. In addition to the Glasgow School of Art, we can admire the House for an Art Lover in Glasgow, built according to his plans after his death. Mackintosh said that if he had talent, his wife had genius. Charles worked closely with Margaret. It was she who provided the floral touch that softened Charles' straightforward style. This is evident in the stained glass windows and murals he commissioned. In his later years, Mackintosh painted landscapes and flower studies that intertwine the styles of both spouses
The 1920s saw the emergence of other groups such as the Scottish Colorists. It was not until the end of the 20th century that their influence was felt in contemporary art. Some of the Colorists were active in France, in the tradition of Monet, Matisse and Cézanne. The leader, John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961) made frequent visits to Paris. Francis Cadell, Samuel Peploe and Leslie Hunter also belong to this movement.
The Edinburgh School of the 1930s brought together William Gillies, William MacTaggart and Anne Redpath around a modern approach to the Scottish landscape. Much later, other artists such as Alan Davie or Edouardo Paolozzi turned to abstraction.
The painter and sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005) was the first Scottish artist to gain such international recognition. His art prefigured the pop art explosion. He participated in the British pavilion at the 1952 Venice Biennale, which saw the emergence of a generation of sculptors: Reg Butler, Lynn Chadwick and Kenneth Armitage. Works by Paolozzi have joined the collections of the Scottish National Gallery alongside Raeburn's famous Skater, Antonio Canova's Three Graces and Gauguin's Vision after the Sermon.
Contemporary scene
The generation born in the 1960s is exploding on the international scene. The best known, and also the most highly rated on the market, is undoubtedly the figurative painter Peter Doig.
Influenced by the German Romantics, he paints vast, wild and melancholic landscapes. In 2016, his painting showing a rainbow tunnel by the highway sold for almost €13 million.Born in 1966, video artist Douglas Gordon lives and works in Glasgow. His work combines projections, photographs, installations and texts. Gordon likes to appropriate images to stage them in unexpected contexts. Blind James
takes a black and white portrait of the actor James Mason and cuts out his eyes to create a blind version. This work belongs to a series of mythical actors: Cary Grant, Kim Novak, Marlon Brando or Paul Newman have also inspired Gordon.Rob Mulholland disperses his work into the public domain to question the relationship between man and nature. An environmental sculptor, Mulholland has installed over 600 mirrored silhouettes on wilderness sites. In Rutherglen, a six-metre figure marks the entrance to Cuningar Woodland Park. The surface of his sculptures absorbs and reflects the constant movements of the environment and the Scottish light.
For sculpture lovers, a visit to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern
Art is completed outside with admirable works including one by Henry Moore. Also in Edinburgh, The Fruitmarket Gallery presents the rising generation alongside established names: Claire Barclay, Louise Hopkins, Callum Innes, Lucy Skaer and Tony Swain have made their mark here. Glasgow's dynamism has been extended to the street since the 1970s. The city supports urban art projects by commissioning big names like Rogue-One, Art Pistol, Recoat and Smug. Maps of the City Centre Mural Trail will guide you. A few pointers: in the centre, Rogue-One has painted "Hip-Hop Puppets" on John Street. The Barras is home to a wealth of urban art, including murals by Mark Worst and Rogue-One, shown here with a young pirate. The Maryhill Road area has been the subject of a public art commission. Elph's mural represents three children in a tribute to the diversity of the population.
