About this artwork

This study shows one of the most spectacular views of Edinburgh Castle. This aspect was a very popular one among artists in the mid-nineteenth century. An inscription on the paper says that it was done 'on the spot'. McCulloch moved to Edinburgh in 1838 and painted many distant views of the city, but this drawing is one of only three known street scenes (the other two are both in the NGS collection). The scale of the imposing Castle and the glory of its past contrast with the humble lives of the ordinary people and buildings below. The limited palette, use of white body-colour, and sparse application of wash suggest that McCulloch may have been influenced by the technique of David Roberts.

Updated before 2020

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Horatio McCulloch

Horatio McCulloch