Sir William Allan
The Murder of David Rizzio
1833Soon after their marriage Mary discovered that Darnley was not the ideal husband after all. He was arrogant, impulsive and vain, and his struggles for personal power created instability in an already fragile political situation. Mary stopped short of giving him the highest honour, the ‘crown matrimonial’, which would have made Darnley king even after Mary’s death. This infuriated Darnley who even tried to convince Parliament to crown him without his wife’s approval.
Mary was beginning to spend more time with her private secretary, the Italian musician David Rizzio. Jealous of their friendship, Darnley conspired against Mary, and on 9 March 1566, together with a group of Lords, he barged into Mary’s private apartments in Holyrood Palace. Rizzio was stabbed to death in a frenzied attack.
- Glossary (4 terms)
- Open
Limner
An old word for a painter that has been variously used for painters of illuminated manuscripts, miniature painters and portrait painters.
Royal Academy
An independent institution founded in 1768 with Sir Joshua Reynolds as its first president. It is governed by the Royal Academicians - leading painters, sculptors, printmakers and architects, which number no more than 80 at one time. It organises exhibitions at its London galleries, including an annual Summer Exhibition.
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) was formed in Edinburgh in 1826 by Scottish artists who felt alienated by what they perceived as the elitism of the Royal Institution and its management of contemporary art exhibitions. In 1835, the RSA secured exhibition rights in the Royal Institution building, which had been erected on The Mound by the Board of Manufactures in 1826. The RSA and the Board frequently argued over responsibilities for advanced art education. From 1859, the RSA shared the premises of the new National Gallery of Scotland under the Board?s custody. In 1910, after transferring most of its art collections to the Gallery, the RSA gained exclusive tenancy of the former Royal Institution building, where it continues to hold large-scale annual exhibitions.
Trustees' Academy
The Trustees? Academy was founded in Edinburgh in 1760 by the Board of Trustees for the Improvement of Fisheries and Manufactures in Scotland. This was the earliest publicly funded art school in Britain, but during the early years it was essentially an elementary drawing school dedicated to applied design. The students included practical craftsmen as well as fine artists. The school gradually developed more facilities for advanced fine art education, including a plaster cast collection. In 1826, it relocated to a new building on The Mound, which was erected by the Board. The Trustees? Academy was reformed in 1858, using the well established government Schools of Design in London as its model, and was the direct ancestor of Edinburgh College of Art, established in 1907.
- Credits Presented by the 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal 1927
- Medium Oil on panel
- Size 102.50 x 163.30 cm (framed: 150.80 x 209.80 x 13.00 cm)
