Landseer's work may divide - but it is worthy of embrace
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Whether viewed as a cliché or a symbol of national strength, the sale of Landseer’s Scene in Braemar for £5.9m tells us something of the artist’s continued power and timeless skill as an artist, writes Professor Frances Fowle
Sir Edwin Landseer’s magnificent Scene in Braemar has just sold at Sotheby’s in London for nearly £6 million, a record auction price for this artist. The market clearly approved, but to many such a painting is a cliché, an outmoded representation of Scottish identity. What is it about Landseer’s highland landscapes that continues to divide opinion?
A Scene in Braemar was painted around six years after its ‘sister painting’, the iconic and internationally renowned Monarch of the Glen (c.1851), now in the National Galleries of Scotland. In every way the Braemar painting prevails – both in scale and in the sheer drama of the spectacle before you. At the apex of the composition, on a rocky crag, stands the proud and handsome stag, bellowing defiantly as he guards his harem. The foreground is bathed in light, while a swirling mist envelopes the surrounding hills. The effect is more than impressive – it almost takes your breath away.
Anyone who knows the area around Braemar will have experienced the thrill of seeing large herds of deer moving across the landscape. It was near here that Queen Victoria would take refuge in late summer, acquiring Balmoral Castle in 1852. And since Landseer was her favourite artist, he would often accompany the royal party. It was his skill at painting animals that endeared him to the queen, but Landseer created a romanticised vision of the Scotland – as rooted in the past and associated with a landscape of purple-clad hills and mist-covered lochs. He offered what was essentially an outsider’s view of Scotland, replacing Sir Walter Scott’s heroes of the past with the noble stag.
More troubling to some, Landseer’s work has uncomfortable associations with blood sports and the activities of an upper-class elite, for Queen Victoria travelled to Scotland during the stalking season. Scene in Braemar includes a hare, a ptarmigan and a golden eagle, all of which were shot for sport. And yet Landseer in this painting also celebrates nature, bringing each animal to life with extraordinary attention to detail. The hare, especially, is full of character, its nose and ears twitching, its right paw lifted and its eye glinting as it listens to the roar of the stag. The foreground doe raises her head and turns towards us, her tongue slightly protruding. She lies there contentedly, reassured that the stag will protect her. It is an illustration of the balance of nature that would have reassured Victorian audiences.
In his day Landseer enjoyed enormous commercial success. His work was widely disseminated through prints, and many emigrant Scots acquired such images to remind them of home. Today Landseer’s memory lives on, thanks to the Monarch of the Glen, which has been used in advertising campaigns by companies like Diageo and Nestlé, and to promote products such as Glenfiddich whisky and Bachelor’s soup. In Scene in Braemar a different, but equally noble stag raises its magnificent antlers and roars into the distance. Who could not feel proud to be associated with this beautiful landscape and this glorious animal, a symbol of our nation’s strength, pride, courage and resilience? Love it or hate it, the Landseer stag remains an international symbol of Scottish identity and an important aspect of our tourist industry. We should embrace it, just like the lucky new owner of this impressive painting.
Professor Frances Fowle is the emeritus professor of nineteenth-century art at the University of Edinburgh
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