ONE of the great literary sensations, and controversies, of Scottish literary history is to be re-examined for a major show at the National Museum of Scotland next year.
The distance between the romantic myths of Scotland, including the Ossian tales of James Macpherson, and its reality will be examined for the major show Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland.
The exhibition, which will run from June 26 to November 10 next year, will re-examine how the romantic images of Scotland - such as depictions of glens and deer, tartan and ancient tales of heroics - prospered in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The show will be the major summer show for the National Museum in a landmark year for the institution, in Edinburgh’s Chambers Street, as it opens three new permanent galleries as part of an £80m revamp: these will include exhibitions of Ancient Egypt, East Asia, and Ceramics.
Wild and Majestic will explore how “in the era of the European Romantic movement....Scotland became the subject of international fascination.”
The Ossian controversy was a key part of a growth of interest in Scottish myth and history: a lengthy cycle of epic poems, first published by Scottish poet James Macpherson from 1760, which he said were based on ancient tales he had gathered.
The Works of Ossian was published in 1765, and were a great commercial success - fans of the often doom-laden works included Napoleon, Walter Scott, Goethe and the painter Ingres - who painted the spectacular image ‘Ossian’s Dream’ - and they were made available in translation across Europe, with an ensuing large impact on literature, poetry and other art forms.
READ MORE: Viking age hoard saved for the nation
However, Macpherson’s works were dogged by questions over their authenticity - Samuel Johnson, the famous English writer, accused Macpherson of forgery.
The new exhibition will state that Macpherson’s works, whilst still controversial and open to debate, were rooted in something real.
The show will also examine the tensions between the colourful depictions of Highland life as promoted by Queen Victoria at Balmoral, and the realities of industrialisation and the depopulation of the Highlands.
Dr Stuart Allan, Keeper of Scottish History and Archaeology, who is curating the show, said: “Ossian was huge, and it was huge beyond Scotland, and the controversy around it didn’t actually have an immediate or massive impact on how it was received across Europe.
“Ossian features strongly, and it is a microcosm for the whole show: because on the one hand, people were completely tapped into the idea of the epic, but then there was the suggestion that the whole thing was a fabrication, with Johnson taking the opportunity to have a kick.
“But there is a consensus that Macpherson was collecting fragments of oral tradition, in some cases written tradition, and turning them into something else, something bigger, and in a way that is a metaphor for the whole subject.
“Ossian may have been a creation to suit the cultural tastes of the time - but it did not come from nowhere.”
READ MORE: Donation leads to new ceramics gallery for National Museum
He added: “If one looks at Romanticism, I’d see it as a to-ing and fro-ing between reality and imagination.
“That does not mean that the two were entirely separate, and I think it is an over-simplication to say that there was no substance in [Romanticism].
“We are also mindful that this was happening during a period of rapid change - we want to question the idea that this was a complete fabrication, but also understand that there was something happening that not everyone was happy with at the time, and which still generates a wide range of responses even within Scotland.
“There is the sense of unease with this, which some of us in Scotland still feel to this day, and to note this was a controversial direction of travel at the time.
“We have a lot of international visitors, and that might be a tension that they do not understand.”
The exhibition will look at Ossian, the foundation of Highland societies, the overturning of the ban on Highland dress, the tourism industry, and the pageantry which surrounded the visit to Scotland, in 1822, of George IV.
Another major show next year will be Body Beautiful: Diversity on the Catwalk, which will run from 23 May to 20 October, which will look at the growing issue of diversity in the fashion industry.
READ MORE: National Museums show looks at embroidery
Body Beautiful will showcase work by designers who are looking to change the fashion industry, and explores themes including “size, gender and sexuality, age, race, and disability.” Visitors will see fashions from established and emerging designers, as well as contributions models and stylists, photographers, and editors.
Dr Gordon Rintoul, Director of National Museums Scotland, said: “Thanks to the work over the last fifteen years to transform the National Museum of Scotland, it is now the most popular visitor attraction in the UK outwith London, with over 2.3 million visitors in the last calendar year.
“Our programme for 2019 will build on that success, with the final new permanent galleries opening on 8 February and a tremendously diverse and engaging programme of special exhibitions throughout the year.”
Other shows will look at robots, embroidery and parasites.
Parasites: Battle for Survival will look at five diseases which the World Health Organisation is aiming to eradicate.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel