Painted decoration
The survival of so many excellent examples of Renaissance painted decoration in Scotland is remarkable for several reasons. Firstly, it was often carried out with fugitive media such as egg tempera on wood, or water-based paints on dry plaster surfaces. They then had to survive centuries of dampness, fading of colours, going out of fashion, house alterations and demolition, sometimes by modern-day vandals.
Those which have come down to us have either been in the cherished possession of sensitive custodians such as the Muses Ceiling at Crathes Castle (illustrated above) or ironically, because they have gone out of fashion, resulting in them being covered over with lathe and plaster. In a further dose of irony, one of the best examples of a Scottish painted ceiling was in fact, revealed by vandals dislodging a large stone from a wall in Rossend Castle in Fife and letting it plunge through rotted floorboards. The floorboards of a chamber acted as the ceiling of the chamber below. Interestingly, the later plaster ceiling which concealed the 16th c. work mimicked the patterns it hid!
Happily it is now de rigeur for castle restorers to include at least one painted ceiling in their work, bringing delight to their visitors and employment for artists such as June McEwan (above). Recent examples with different interpretations include Craig Castle, Edinample and Barholm.
Emblems and other subject matter
The most authoritative study of this art form in Scotland has been done by Prof. Michael Bath and published by the National Museums of Scotland. (Details below) Another distinction for Scotland in this field is that the world's greatest collection of emblem books is in Glasgow, Around 2,000 volumes forming part of the library of Sir William Stirling Maxwell (1818-1878), were bequeathed to the University of Glasgow. http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/collection/stirling.html
Sadly, Scotland produced few emblem books but English and mainland European books must have had wide circulation in the country. These books originated from the illustrated Latin epigrams of Andrea Alciato that soon became fashionable and spread throughout the continent. The illustration above shows an Alciato emblem with later embellishment.
Painted decoration at Baltersan
It is intended to have several painted ceilings and frescoes at Baltersan. In keeping with international conservation standards, the work will be deliberately fugitive and reversible. As in the Renaissance, the subject matter will not be solely for decoration but will include aphorisms and draw on sources relevant to the history of the house.
Conjectural reconstruction drawing of the south-west corner of The Hall (2nd level) by James Brown. The open door with the private stair leads to the third and fourth levels.
Further reading:
Renaissance Decorative Painting in Scotland by Michael Bath
NMS Publishing 2003
ISBN 1 901663 60 4
http://www.nms.ac.uk/retail.aspx
The Painted Ceilings of Scotland 1550-1650 by M.R. Apted
Published 1966 by HMSO Edinburgh
Traditional Paints and Finishes by Annie Sloan and Kate Gwynn
Published by Collins & Brown, 1993
ISBN 1 85585 169 5 (hardback) ISBN 1 85585 194 6 (paperback)