Interest in Venetian Renaissance art has always been strong in Scotland. Since the early nineteenth century, masterpieces by painters such as Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto and their contemporaries have been acquired to adorn the residences of private collectors such as the 10th Duke of Hamilton, the 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo, and Archibald McLellan. Since the end of WW2 the National Gallery of Scotland has held a collection of Venetian paintings of outstanding international importance, on long-term loan from the former Bridgewater Collection. Public awareness of the richness of these holdings was further heightened by major exhibitions held in Edinburgh in 2004 and Glasgow in 2012. Building on these experiences, this project intends to extend research to prints, drawings and illustrated books, in order to deepen the understanding of the role played by Venetian Renaissance art in the Scottish culture of the past and of the present.

Funded by

The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Research Workshops in the Arts and Humanities

Principal Investigator: Dr Laura Moretti (University of St Andrews)

Co-Investigator: Dr Linda Borean (Università degli Studi di Udine)

Collaborators

• Peter Black, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow;
• Michael Bury, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh & Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh;
• Julie Gardham, Special Collections, University of Glasgow Library;
• Daryl Green, Special Collections, University of St Andrews Library;
• Anette Hagan, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh;
• Joe Marshall, Special Collections, University of Edinburgh Library;
• Aidan Weston-Lewis, Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh.

Start date

01/03/2016

Duration

12 months