Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots painting

Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Robert Inerarity Herdman (1829–1888) Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This painting shows the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots at Fotheringay Castle, Northampton on 8 February 1587. Wearing widow's clothes and a white veil, she walks towards the executioner's block. The light captures the serenity and courage of her expression. She is watched with mixed emotions by some of her followers and by her enemies. The two ladies at the foot of the stage are her attendants Elizabeth Curle and Jane Kennedy, the man between them is Sir Andrew Melville, Master of Mary's household. In the Victorian period there was a great vogue for Scottish things. Herdman has deliberately glamorized the past by presenting the ageing Mary as a young and beautiful woman, the innocent victim of political intrigue. She has become a romantic heroine and is shown as a saintly figure. Her blood-red petticoat symbolizes her martyrdom to the Catholic faith. In reality, Mary was 44 years old when she died. Long imprisonment had left her physically frail and aged, she suffered terribly from rheumatic pain, and her famous red hair had turned grey. The drama and pathos of the scene is enhanced by the light which catches the gleam of the masked executioner's axe and the corner of the coffin lying in the right foreground. This romantic view of Mary was also reinforced by Sir Walter Scott's novels. In the Victorian period there was a great vogue for Scottish things. Herdman has deliberately glamorized the past by presenting the ageing Mary as a young and beautiful woman, the innocent victim of political intrigue. She has become a romantic heroine and is shown as a saintly figure. Her blood-red petticoat symbolizes her martyrdom to the Catholic faith. In reality, Mary was 44 years old when she died. Long imprisonment had left her physically frail and aged, she suffered terribly from rheumatic pain, and her famous red hair had turned grey. The drama and pathos of the scene is enhanced by the light which catches the gleam of the masked executioner's axe and the corner of the coffin lying in the right foreground. This romantic view of Mary was also reinforced by Sir Walter Scott's novels. www.artuk.org Biography Mary Queen of Scott: https://englishhistory.net/tudor/relative/mary-queen-of-scots/