Kelvingrove — Scottish Identity in Art

Last night I went to a stand up show at the King’s Theater which was part of the comedy festival. I saw two comics — Frank Skinner and Pierre Novellie. Both were great. I’m excited about tonight’s show with comedian Ed Gamble. Having both of these shows two nights in a row, I didn’t venture out today until it was time to walk downtown for dinner. I did have something from yesterday that I wanted to save in a post here. I really liked this exhibit from the Kelvingrove Art Gallery which seemed to bring together so much of what I’ve been seeing in Scotland this month. I’m storing them here so that I will remember the impact that all of these people and places had on Scottish culture. To follow the story, you would just need to remember a few people — Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Robbie Burns, and the Jacobites — and a few places — Brannockburn, Stirling Bridge, Langside, Glencoe, and Culloden. In this exhibit they dealt with each in turn and explained how they became symbols of a Scottish national identity. It gets complicated because religion plays a huge part — most of the Scottish people became Protestants (John Knox should be added to the list of people) while much of what shaped the Scottish identity surrounded their loyalty to the Catholic monarchs. My favorite part of the exhibit highlighted artifacts from Jacobite homes which held secret symbols of this loyalty long after the Stuart throne had been lost to the Hanoverians. A white rose or a dagger were symbols of defiance. The Latin word “fiat” (“Let it be”) carved into a glass quietly signified a hope for the restoration of the Stuart kings. I’m currently reading “The Bookseller of Inverness” which is a mystery about the Jacobites in Scotland after the Battle of Culloden, and so much of the content of this exhibit plays an important part in the novel. This is my favorite way to travel.Read more