Still relevant, Mary continues to inspire
As a wee girl, I used to pick dandelions, chanting: “Mary, Queen of Scots, got her head chopped off!”
On the word off, I’d ping the yellow head of the flower off with my thumb.
Like many other children, this was my introduction to the story of the doomed monarch whose life and death, from 1542 to 1587, has become a production line of imagery and stories.
I was reminded of the rhyme as I looked around The Afterlife Of Mary Queen Of Scots at Glasgow University’s Hunterian Art Gallery. Drawing on the university’s store of Mary related artefacts, the exhibition covers the major themes of her life.
One was the programme from the first production in 1987 of Liz Lochhead’s play Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off. Written against a backdrop of the 1979 devolution referendum and the re-election of Margaret Thatcher as PM in 1987, Lochhead revisited the 16th Century power struggle to reflect contemporary issues. It’s an example of how the story of Mary Stuart continues to pique the public’s imagination. From coins to paintings and snuff boxes, Mary’s story unravels gradually. Although the basic facts of Mary’s life remain fixed, every version is different.
Sir Walter Scott was obsessed by Mary. He owned a grisly painting of her decapitated head on a plate by Amias Cawood. Scott even hung the painting in his dining room. Enough to put you off your tea...
Looking at other exhibits, including a late-20th Century painting by John Bellany and an 18th Century depiction of the abdication of Mary by Gavin Hamilton, the only other view of Mary by a woman was a hyper-real and exaggerated digital print by Glasgow-based artist Rachel Maclean.
Which shows the real Mary? It’s anyone’s guess.
The Afterlife Of Mary, Queen Of Scots is at the
Hunterian until February 5