Louis Le Brocquy (1916-2012) Remembered

Louis le Broquy's seminal painting A Family is one of the most important Irish paintings of the 20th Century. It's also one of ten paintings shortlisted for the Ireland's Favourite Painting campaign. For more information about the painting, and to see the other works on the shortlist, visit MASTERPIECE. And don't forget to vote!

ART HISTORY ALUMNI AND FRIENDS TOUR EDINBURGH

Twenty-eight CACE students of art history successfully took part in a three-day study tour of Edinburgh, 20-23 April. It marked the climax of a successful short course on Masterpieces from Scottish Collections hosted by CACE in partnership with Cork City Library. The tour, led by James Cronin, focused on making connections between the arts and culture of the city of Edinburgh. Highlights included visits to the National Gallery of Scotland, Writers’ Museum, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Dundas House, Canongate Kirkyard, Holyrood Palace, Old Calton Cemetery, and Calton Hill. A highlight for the group was the Sunday morning service in St. Giles Cathedral attended by the Lord Provost and Council of Edinburgh. The tour explored connections between objects, people and places associated with the culture of the Scottish Enlightenment. For an example, students visited the Portrait Gallery to study Henry Raeburn's portrait of the geologist, James Hutton, and then toured the Salisbury crags near Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh. Participants enjoyed seeing connections made between different fields of knowledge. Dr Ivor McCarthy, retired from Geology at UCC, joined the tour and gave delightfully informed talks on the geology of the city and Hutton's experimental work on geology during the eighteenth century, which led to new insights into the history of the earth. Visiting the places the class had studied in lectures made the information that much more meaningful to them as a whole. Mrs Teresa MacCarthy commented, “It was a delight from beginning to end”.

Group photograph in Riddle's Close, Old Town, here Sir Patrick Geddes (1854-1932), University of Edinburgh, fostered adult education in Scotland.

Here are some visual highlights of the study tour (click on the image to enlarge)

The Scott Monument and Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.

This monument was erected in memory of Scotland’s illustrious writer Sir Walter Scott who died in 1832. In 1836 an architectural competition was launched. The winning design was submitted by George Meikle Kemp. Construction was completed in 1846.

AddVictorian banking hall in the former Dundas House, designed by William Chambers, now a Bank of Scotland. Dundas House, completed in 1774 and designed by William Chambers (1726-96) for Sir Laurence Dundas. The Royal Bank of Scotland bought the building in 1825 and it is now their registered office.

Detail of the new Scottish Parliament building on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh.
Designed by the Catalan architect Enric Miralles (1955-2000) and completed after his death by his wife and partner, Benedetta Taglibue. It opened three years later than planned, and cost more than 10 times the original budget of 40 million pounds!

 

Detail of the doors of the Queen's Picture Gallery at Holyrood Palace.

Note the rampant lion set against a silhouette of Edinburgh, spanning the Royal Mile from the Castle to the Palace (below).

Old Calton Cemetery

The tomb of Scottish Enlightment philosopher David Hume in the background. Headstone to the eighteenth century historical painter, David Allan, is in the foreground.

David Hume (1711-76). Hume’s chief philosophical work, the Treatise of Human Nature, was written while he was living in France during the years 1734-37. The first two volumes were published in 1739, the third in 1740, but went largely unnoticed. In 1744 he made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a professorship at Edinburgh. Today, he is regarded a major figure of the “Scottish Enlightenment” and his writings were to influence the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. His tomb was designed by Robert Adam.

Calton Hill, crowned by monuments that led Edinburgh to become known as “the Athens of the North”.

Dr Ivor McCarthy talks about the role of James Hutton on the development of geology during the eighteenth century. Salisbury Crags with Arthur’s Seat loom in the background. It was here that Hutton made his breakthrough studies in the formulation of the theory of geological "deep time".

Detail of Edinburgh's New Town, laid out durning the middle of the eighteenth century.

Edinburgh's New Town is not that new. Built in the mid-to-late 18th Century, in response to overcrowding in what is now known as the Old Town, Edinburgh's New Town is a marvel of urban planning, combining elegant architecture with spacious and comfortable housing. New Town buildings are typically of a neo-classical style sometimes even with grandiose, Grecian pillars outside and tall ceilings and decorative friezes and trimmings inside. The interiors of most New Town residences have been modernised as flats and office spaces. Even the mews buildings, that once housed servants and stables, are considered desirable properties. However, the original character of the Georgian era New Town, with its cobbled roads, pillars, and sandstone block facades is preserved today thanks to building codes that stipulate even the wrought iron railings must be painted a specific colour - black. These New Town residences were built along an integrated and harmonious plan, with residences set near pleasant communal gardens and attractive views.

 

Old Town, Edinburgh.


Edinburgh’s Old Town has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings. One end is closed by the castle and the main artery The High Street (or the Royal Mile) leads away from it; minor streets (called closes or wynds) bud off the main spine in a herringbone pattern. Large squares mark the location of markets or surround major public buildings such as St Giles Cathedral and the Law Courts. Other notable places of interest nearby include the Royal Museum of Scotland, Surgeons' Hall, the Royal Festival Theatre, and the University of Edinburgh. The street layout, typical of the old quarters of many northern European cities, is made especially picturesque in Edinburgh, where the castle perches on top of a rocky crag, the remnants of a dormant volcano, and the main street runs down the crest of a ridge from it.