IN ASSOCIATION WITH Student Guide | VISUAL ART
NATIONAL TREASURES Rachael Cloughton picks out Scotland’s must-see artworks
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CHRIST OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS BY SALVADOR DALÍ Salvador Dalí’s iconic painting of the crucii xion presents an image of Christ suspended in mid-air; there are no nails to pin him to the cross and no blood spilled. Yet the scene is no less dramatic for these omissions. The work was purchased for Glasgow Museums in 1952, a year after it was created, and has remained in the city ever since. ■ Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Mon–Thu, Sat, 10am–5pm; Fri, Sun, 11am–5pm, free.
THE GLASGOW BOYS GALLERY Many credit the Glasgow Boys for putting their city on the art world’s map, not that the work captures much of Glasgow itself. The pioneering 19th-century painters set up their easels in the countryside, capturing rural scenes in an impressionistic style that deliberately dei ed the Royal Scottish Academy’s teaching. Kelvingrove features the world’s premier holding of works by the Boys. ■ Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Mon–Thu, Sat, 10am–5pm; Fri, Sun, 11am–5pm, free. DIANA AND ACTAEON BY TITIAN Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Titian’s painting foretells the grisly fate of the hunter Actaeon, who accidentally stumbled upon the bathing goddess Diana and was turned into a stag, then torn apart by his own dogs. The masterpiece is a highlight in the National Gallery’s collection; when the painting was offered for sale in 2009, £50m was raised to secure the work, which will be displayed alternately between Edinburgh and London on a i ve-year cycle. ■ Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, daily, 10am–5pm (Thu until 7pm), free.
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LANDFORM UEDA BY CHARLES JENCKS Punctuating the space between Modern Art One and Two, ‘Landform Ueda’ (2002) serves as a sculpture, a garden, a work of land art and an imaginative viewing platform to admire the collection of other outdoor works held by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. More practically, it was also designed as a sound barrier to shield noise from the road. ■ Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, daily, 10am–5pm, free. CASTS OF THE PARTHENON FRIEZE Many believe that the casts of the Parthenon Frieze at Edinburgh College of Art are more sensitively displayed than the controversial originals in the British Museum. The college’s Sculpture Court is a space specially designed to echo a classical temple and the frieze scales the perimeter at a height, willing audiences to observe it from the angle intended. ■ Edinburgh College of Art, Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm, free.
HILL HOUSE BY CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH Hill House is one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s most famous creations. Situated in Helensburgh, the house is poised dramatically on a hill overlooking the Clyde. Mackintosh designed the exterior and interiors, including the textiles and i replace panel. The house has been faithfully restored, closely resembling what it looked like on completion in 1904. ■ Hill House, Helensburgh, 1 Apr–31 Oct, daily, 1.30–5.30pm, £10 (£7).
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