With an hour to kill one Saturday when my wife and daughter went shopping in Leeds, I revisited Leeds City Art Gallery. Ten years previously when I had trained as a Yorkshire Blue Badge Guide, I had spent hours in the Gallery as one of exams was based on guiding in a gallery, so we had to research and be able to present on 25 different artworks throughout the gallery.
I always found this module easier than some of the historic sites we had to guide as art on the whole is quite a subjective subject and often different people can see different elements within a painting.
At Leeds City Art Gallery, artworks get put on show and then removed back into storage to make way for other paintings, but Scotland Forever situated in the Ziff Gallery has been on display pretty much since I did my training apart from a brief loan to another gallery.
The Ziff Gallery (formerly The Queens Room) at Leeds City Art Gallery displays a collection of Victorian artworks, including a number of paintings by Leeds born artist John Atkinson Grimshaw. The Gallery is named after Arnold and Majorie Ziff, both successful business people, philanthropists and sponsors of the Arts in Leeds.
When you look at the painting entitled Scotland Forever with its cavalry charge people are often surprised to hear that the painting was done by a woman.
The painting was actually done by Lady Elizabeth Butler in 1881 and is done using oil paints on canvas.
A bit of background on Lady Elizabeth.
She was 16 when she started her art studies in Italy, spending time in Florence before moving back to London. After arriving back in England she married a distinguished British Army General Sir William Francis Butler and spent time touring the Empire and raising six children.
She continued as an artist and became famous for her battle scenes, becoming one of the few women to gain acclaim for her historic paintings. People assumed that she must have witnessed battle scenes by her husband’s side, but Lady Elizabeth actually never personally experienced war
She always claimed “not to paint the glory of war” but its “heroism and pathos”
In terms of the story behind the actual painting Scotland Forever…
The painting is named after the battle cry “Now my boy, Scotland Forever” and shows The Royal Scots Greys at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 charging into battle against Napoleon’s French Forces.
This was a defining battle with the Duke of Wellington commanding British troops in partnership with the Dutch, Germans and Prussians against the French whilst gaining a famous victory.
It is said that as Elizabeth did not have any experience of war – she had her army officer husband try and set up a similar scene in London for her to observe as inspiration!
The painting sums up the movement and mayhem of the initial battle charge. You can see the horses manes flowing backwards as their noses flare under the exertion of the charge – particularly on the lead horse.
None of the horses front hooves are touching the ground during their gallop giving the impression that the horses are almost flying together as one at the same time.
The cavalry look as if they are riding straight at you- as through you were really facing horses and the massed ranks charging.
You can see the expressions on the soldiers faces and can almost hear the battle cry and feel the hooves hitting the rough ground.
The picture does sum up the gallantry and heroism of the soldiers without glorifying war. The men are selflessly charging into battle with swords raised, believing in their cause but knowing they risk death.
If you look carefully you can see some soldiers who have already been shot as they charged, fall backwards off their charges, for example the bugler second horse from the right. So Elizabeth Butler is not trying to hide the consequences of war and this makes the picture all the more real.
The dark foreboding sky with storm clouds, helps build atmosphere and perhaps was a metaphor for the dark, grim battle ahead. But there is a beam of light shining through which could be predicting hope?
The eye is focused on the lead horse staring at the viewer. The artist has been clever here because no matter where you stand the lead horse is looking at you! To represent the scale of the battle, the sheer numbers and depth of the ranks can be seen by the painting gradually getting lighter with less clear images of cavalry the further back you look.
The horses are also a heavy breed used for battle and you can make out their sinews and muscles as they charge
This picture was used again in a propaganda campaign for recruitment during WW1 by not only the British, but also by the Germans believe it or not. More recently it is said that the painting is the inspiration for the battle charge in the film Waterloo featuring Rod Steiger.
Finally, most paintings of battles usually show both armies and often just before or after battle. What makes this so impactful is capturing the actual charge itself. It certainly is a very emotive painting with an interesting backstory. I have seen the image used in books, posters and more recently on fabric as the lining of a jacket. It is great that the original sits here in Yorkshire at Leeds City Art Gallery and I can highly recommend a visit to see the actual painting and suggest you stand in front of the painting, facing the charging horses and see what you read into the painting.
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