Historical Description of the Altar-Piece, painted in the Reign of King James the Third of Scotland, belonging to Her Majesty, in the Palace of Holyrood

Abstract

Following on from his previous article (see Vol III, pp.8-25), David Laing continues his investigation into the altarpiece showing James III and Margaret of Denmark. He outlines the historical context of the Stuart dynasty and goes on to argue that the altarpiece must have been painted earlier than 1484 given the turmoil of James III’s later reign and the ages of the figures in the painting. Laing then offers a suggestion of who the artist might have been, based on the new dating, the documentary evidence and the art style.

[The pagination has been slightly altered to include pp.*321-324*.]