In 'Northern Romanticism,' nature is both awesome and sublime. In the northern romantic mind, there are truths older than industry and science. A romantic artist looks for a place to bond with the elements. In Scottish literature Northern Romanticism is central to the work of James Macpherson (Ossian myths,) Walter Scott and many others. In painting, during the Victorian era it was associated with Balmoral-esque painters like Landseer (Monarch of the Glen.) But what of the 21st century Scottish painting? Industry, art and tastes are unimaginably different from one-hundred and fifty years ago; but nature is still just as awesome and sublime. Here are ten Northern Romantic paintings from our vaults at Kilmorack Gallery.
David Cook - Violent Sea
In 'Violent Sea' David Cook gets close to the dangerous and seductive power of nature. Like a true northern romantic, he lives and works from an isolated studio with no phone, computer or car. It is an aesthetic life, giving his work romantic and shamanic qualities.
Allan MacDonald - birches, in a time of shadows, 2012
This is a big painting. It surrounds you with energies; the distant vibrating moon, ghostly birch trees and a dance between light and shadow. You can almost walk into it. This is a world where we know something to be true, because we feel it with all our senses. It confirms the sublime.
Kirstie Cohen - Arcus, 2012
You let the power of nature swaddle you in a Northern Romantic painting. You should be engulfed in the vastness of the sky and the land. Cohen paintings do this with surprising abstraction, and a richness that comes the layers of oil paint.
Allan MacDonald - Island of Dun, St Kilda, 2004
This is a painting from a series of works painted after a trip to the remote St Kilda islands (2004.) Sea and the elements surrounded the islanders before they abandoned their home in the 1930s. This captures MacDonald's work from this period. The paint is thicker, and the whole feel darker but yet the whole painting is somehow uplifting.
Pat Semple - Summer, Orkney, 2011
Pat Semple draws on influences that go beyond the might of nature alone. There is an inner dialogue too; about memories, of people and places, and poetic visions. These come together to give her work extra punch.
Sarah Carrington - Sea Grasses and Rocks, Low Tide, Iona
The sublime power of nature is not always best caught using heavy oil paints. Sometimes it is a lighter thing. Every mark in Sarah Carrington's 'Sea Grasses and Rock' has a purpose.
Lizzie Rose - Hebridean Lines
When any painting is distilled down, there is space and lines. In a northern romantic landscape this becomes strange geometries that capture the vastness of the landscape. They are an antidote to industry. Sometimes what at first seems simple, turns out to be complex. This is the key to a Lizzie Rose painting.
David Cook - Harvest
The natural world of the northern romantic artist is not just storms and majestic hills. Here is the sun and wheat fields, a harvest. Nature can be kind too.
Jane MacNeill - October Meadow, Feshie
Jane MacNeill is known best for shamanic creatures and angels, but a romantic relationship with the landscape is clear from her latest works. Here, in 'October Meadow, Feshie,' we see a mountain and a field, and we see something else too, something awe-inspiring glowing in her paint.
What is Romanticism really? All great works of art look beyond technique and the titillation's of paint. Within the frame is a view of our world, or, even better, a view of something special in our world. It is a quest for magic.
David Cook - Violent Sea
In 'Violent Sea' David Cook gets close to the dangerous and seductive power of nature. Like a true northern romantic, he lives and works from an isolated studio with no phone, computer or car. It is an aesthetic life, giving his work romantic and shamanic qualities.
 |
| Violent Sea - David Cook - 52cm x 62cm - £2,500 |
Allan MacDonald - birches, in a time of shadows, 2012
This is a big painting. It surrounds you with energies; the distant vibrating moon, ghostly birch trees and a dance between light and shadow. You can almost walk into it. This is a world where we know something to be true, because we feel it with all our senses. It confirms the sublime.
 |
| birches, in a time of shadows - oil on canvas - 137cm x 183cm - £7,000 |
Kirstie Cohen - Arcus, 2012
You let the power of nature swaddle you in a Northern Romantic painting. You should be engulfed in the vastness of the sky and the land. Cohen paintings do this with surprising abstraction, and a richness that comes the layers of oil paint.
 |
| Arcus - Kirstie Cohen - oil on canvas - 110cm x 140cm - £5,000 |
Allan MacDonald - Island of Dun, St Kilda, 2004
This is a painting from a series of works painted after a trip to the remote St Kilda islands (2004.) Sea and the elements surrounded the islanders before they abandoned their home in the 1930s. This captures MacDonald's work from this period. The paint is thicker, and the whole feel darker but yet the whole painting is somehow uplifting.
 |
| Island of Dun - oil on canvas - 120cm x 180cm - £5,000 |
Pat Semple - Summer, Orkney, 2011
Pat Semple draws on influences that go beyond the might of nature alone. There is an inner dialogue too; about memories, of people and places, and poetic visions. These come together to give her work extra punch.
 |
| Summer, Orkney - Pat Semple - oil on canvas - 80cm x 140cm - £6,500 |
Lotte Glob - Book of the Land
Poetry and painting can be northern romantic, and so can sculpture. This is a Lotte Glob book, made from material gathered by the artist on her long walks; and assembled to enclose secrets. In nature, there is always a page to be turned.
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| Lotte Glob - book of the land |
Sarah Carrington - Sea Grasses and Rocks, Low Tide, Iona
The sublime power of nature is not always best caught using heavy oil paints. Sometimes it is a lighter thing. Every mark in Sarah Carrington's 'Sea Grasses and Rock' has a purpose.
 |
| Sea Grasses and Rocks, Low Tide, Iona - mixed media - 59cm x 84cm |
Lizzie Rose - Hebridean Lines
When any painting is distilled down, there is space and lines. In a northern romantic landscape this becomes strange geometries that capture the vastness of the landscape. They are an antidote to industry. Sometimes what at first seems simple, turns out to be complex. This is the key to a Lizzie Rose painting.
 |
| Hebridean Lines - acrylic and pencil - 34cm x 33cm - £450 |
David Cook - Harvest
The natural world of the northern romantic artist is not just storms and majestic hills. Here is the sun and wheat fields, a harvest. Nature can be kind too.
 |
| Harvest - David Cook - oil on board - 122cm x 122cm - £4,900 |
Jane MacNeill - October Meadow, Feshie
Jane MacNeill is known best for shamanic creatures and angels, but a romantic relationship with the landscape is clear from her latest works. Here, in 'October Meadow, Feshie,' we see a mountain and a field, and we see something else too, something awe-inspiring glowing in her paint.
 |
| October Meadow, Feshie - oil on board - 56cm x 50cm - £740 |
What is Romanticism really? All great works of art look beyond technique and the titillation's of paint. Within the frame is a view of our world, or, even better, a view of something special in our world. It is a quest for magic.
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