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| John Michael Wright Portrait of Lord Mungo Murray ca. 1683 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
"Lord Mungo, the fifth son of the Marquess of Atholl, is dressed for hunting. He wears a belted plaid – a double width of tartan about five metres long, belted around the body to form a kilt and cloak. This traditional highland costume is worn with a fashionable doublet. He holds a flintlock sporting gun and carries two pistols in his belt. He also has a dirk and a ribbon basket sword. His servant, in the background, carries a longbow, used for hunting deer. Lord Mungo died young, fighting the Spanish in Panama in Central America."
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| John Michael Wright Portrait of William Cunningham, 8th Earl of Glencairn 1661 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
"An active Covenanter, Glencairn nonetheless led a rebellion against the Cromwellian occupation of Scotland and after the Restoration was made Lord Chancellor. The painter, one of the most distinctive in British art of the seventeenth century, was trained by George Jamesone in Edinburgh. He later travelled to Rome and worked as antiquary to the Archduke Leopold in the Low Countries."
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| Godfrey Kneller Portrait of Philip, 4th Lord Wharton 1685 oil on canvas Tate Gallery, London |
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| Godfrey Kneller Portrait of Lord Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore 1683 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
"Kneller was a German artist who trained in Amsterdam under Ferdinand Bol and Rembrandt. He came to London in 1674 and became the leading portrait painter in England during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. The output from his studio was enormous and included effectively everyone of importance from the reign of Charles II to George I. Kneller popularized the Kit-Cat format for portraits (36 x 28 inches), named after his portraits of the members of the famous Whig dining club. The founding governor of the first academy of art in England, his position as court and society painter was unrivalled. Kneller was Principal Painter from 1689, and in 1715 was created a baronet, a rank that was not surpassed by any artist for over a century."
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| Carlo Maratti Portrait of Cardinal Jacopo Rospigliosi 1667-69 oil on canvas Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
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| Peter Lely Portrait of Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, first wife of the future James II ca. 1661 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
"Anne Hyde, the daughter of Sir Edward Hyde, spent her childhood at the court of Princess Mary of Orange in Breda. In 1656 she accompanied Mary to her exiled brother Charles II's court in Paris, where she met the future James II. They fell in love and agreed to marry, but the couple encountered strong opposition from Charles and the Queen Mother, who loathed Anne's father. Eventually Charles relented and they were secretly married in 1660. Although by all accounts James adored his intelligent and sociable bride, he soon had a succession of mistresses which greatly distressed Anne. She nevertheless bore James eight children, two of whom – Mary and Anne – later became Queens of Britain. Anne herself died of cancer many years before James's accession to the throne."
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| Peter Lely Portrait of James II when Duke of York ca. 1661 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Peter Lely Portrait of Lady Diana Bruce ca. 1660-70 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Peter Lely Portrait of General George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle ca. 1660-70 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
"General Monck, seen here in his Garter robes, played a key role in the Restoration of Charles II. Cromwell's commander-in-chief in Scotland, he had become convinced that chaos would result if the monarchy were not restored, and so in 1660 he marched his army to London and arranged for Charles II's return. The King rewarded him with a dukedom. This painting belonged to his friend, Lord Chancellor Clarendon [Sir Edward Hyde, father of Anne Hyde, above]."
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| Anthony van Dyck Portrait of Marchese Ambrogio Spinola 1627 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Anthony van Dyck Portrait of Archbishop Laud ca. 1635-37 oil on canvas Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
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| Anthony van Dyck Portrait of Charles Seton, 2nd Earl of Dunfermline ca. 1640 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
"Charles Seton was a leading Covenanter – one who opposed the religious policies of King Charles I. Essentially a moderate, he nevertheless took part in his enemies' unsuccessful campaign to free the king in 1648. After Charles's execution, he supported Charles II, and, at the Restoration in 1660, he was appointed to various high offices of state. At his death in 1672, his two sons, Alexander and James Seton, 3rd and 4th Earls of Dunfermline, succeeded him in turn. Both died without heirs, and the title became extinct when James Seton was outlawed for Jacobite sympathies."
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| Anthony van Dyck Portrait of a Genoese nobleman in armor ca. 1625-27 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
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| George Jamesone Self-portrait of Scottish portrait-painter George Jamesone ca. 1642 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
"This intriguing painting by George Jamesone is the earliest self-portrait by a Scottish artist in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. Born in Aberdeen around 1589-90, he was the first native-born artist to enter a profession which, in early- seventeenth-century Scotland, was dominated by émigré painters from the Low Countries. While earlier, more straightforward self-portraits by Jamesone exist, this one is his most ambitious and striking. Jamesone proudly presents himself as an artist – he stands close to the picture frame, holds a palette and brushes, and gestures towards the paintings on the wall behind him, which were probably his own works. The group comprises seven portraits, including depictions of the reigning monarchs Charles I and Henrietta Maria, Jamesone's wife Isobel Tosche, a seascape, a landscape, and a mythological scene (identified as the Chastisement of Cupid)."
"Following a five-year apprenticeship in Edinburgh to the decorative painter John Anderson, in 1620 Jamesone returned to Aberdeen where he set up a studio and focused on portraiture. By 1635 he had a studio in Edinburgh, and in both cities painted a variety of sitters including aristocrats, academics, lawyers and merchants. This self-portrait gives us some idea of what the interior of Jamesone's studio may have looked like. Armour, an hour glass, and a drawing of a skull and crossbones feature in the the painting, and, while they were probably studio props, they may also allude to the transience of life and Jamesone's awareness of his own mortality."
"His direct, confident gaze meets the viewer, and parallels can be drawn between this portrait and the Portrait of the Artist by Sir Peter Paul Rubens, which has been in the British Royal Collection since 1623, the year in which it was painted and presented to Charles, Prince of Wales. Like Rubens, Jamesone depicts himself as a gentleman and wears a black doublet with a fine linen collar and cuffs and a fashionable beaver hat. There is no doubt that Jamesone's portrait was painted as an instrument for self-promotion. He gained considerable social and artistic status during his lifetime and accrued substantial wealth. Amongst his significant commissions were a series of portraits of friends and family for his patron Sir Colin Campbell, and an entire set of 52 Scottish monarchs painted for Charles I's triumphal entry into Edinburgh in 1633."
– texts are from curatorial notes at the National Galleries of Scotland