The Glasgow Boys

On a recent trip to the Kelvingrove Art museum and gallery, I visited an expedition featuring the paintings of ‘The Glasgow Boys’. This display is about a group of Scottish artists who revolutionised Scottish painting from 1880 until about 1895. They rebelled against traditional Victorian sentimentality and painted everyday subjects in a fresh new way, often capturing their subject by painting out of doors.Most of them studied abroad, were influenced by what they saw and became internationally acclaimed. Their young rebellious phase only lasted 15 years, and many of them went on to become traditional society painters. Paintings by all the key figures in the group are in the display including Old Willie by James Guthrie. As the name suggests, paintings by the Scottish Colourists with their free and vigorous style and bright colours have the power to brighten even the darkest day. Among these important paintings are ‘The 1888 Glasgow International Exhibition’ by John Lavery and ‘The Druids – bringing in the mistletoe’ by Henry and Hornel. The Druids was inspired by the interest at that time in the archaelogical discoveries about Kirkcudbright. This particular painting interested me the most as the expression conveyed in each person differs from each other. One looking slightly dazed and confused, another looking stern and angry, with others simply having a look of softness and content. The shading used in this painting is exquisite as it shows were the light may have been shining that day, and were the shade from the trees have came in. The bright colours used demonstrates the painters persistence to use the traditional methods. Also there seems to be a form of cattle at the edge of the picture but it is hazy compared to the figures of the humans which suggest that animals may be deemed less important. The size of the display was reasonable big, however it seemed empty but this may have been because of the time of day. The few people that were there, seemed to be intrigued by the expedition, especially in relation to the ’Druids’ painting. The expedition was placed on the Lower Ground Floor so was easily accessible to everyone, which shocked me the most to the lack of people that were there. In conclusion ‘The Glasgow Boys’ really have proved that by not following what was expected of them, they made outstanding art which has made great historical significance.