RSA Scottish Art
Glencoe, 1692
 | Artist: John Blake McDonald |
| Title: Glencoe, 1692 | |
| Year: c. 1877 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
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| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: John Blake McDonald is best known for his paintings of historical subjects based on the stories of the Jacobite Rebellions and other episodes of Highland history. Glencoe, 1692 presents the aftermath of the Massacre of Glencoe on 13 February 1692. The artist has represented the event using the figure of a grieving woman. As a subtitle he quotes from a ballad by William Edmondstone Aytoun in his Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers (1849):But I wandered up the valley Till I found him lying lowe The woman's raised fist and hollow eyes demonstrate her vengeful rage and despair. McDonald has personalised the events of that fateful night by focusing on one woman's emotions when she finds her dead husband. He has created a dramatic, swirling backdrop to the scene by using vigorous brush strokes to create a colour field of billowing white and grey, like a raging sea. As well as adding to the power of the scene, this featureless background does not take attention away from the central figures. McDonald has used a deliberately restrained palette in his execution of this scene. Deep maroons, black and brown stand out starkly against the pale greys and whites. This strict palette magnifies the impact of the bright red blood even further. He has used a subtle change in skin tone to indicate the lifeless body of the man whose skin has darkened and become grey, while the woman's skin is still ruddy and full of life.The mood in this painting is a complex mix of emotions. Grief, hatred, despair, revenge and love are all tied together in the gesture and expression of the woman. The bleakness of the scene reinforces her sense of being alone in a violent wilderness. McDonald painted this scene almost two hundred years after it took place, yet the emotions are still as powerful as when the event happened. What events in your lifetime will still be remembered by future generations? How would you represent the emotions of an important event, whether joyful or tragic? | |
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