Exhibition Review: The Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots
Ellie Lyons - November 15, 2022
Photo credits: Ellie Lyons
Mary Queen of Scots is an iconic figure, and the story of her life has been dramatized and retold to the point of complete fiction. Born just a week before her father’s death, Mary became the Queen of Scots at only six days old. Her life was filled with drama; including a short marriage to Francis II, the suspicious death of her second husband Lord Darnley, and a rivalry with her Protestant cousin Elizabeth I ending in her eventual abdication, imprisonment, and execution. The Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots, the newest exhibition in the Hunterian Art Gallery at the University of Glasgow, explores the popular interest in Queen Mary’s life following her death.
Entering the exhibition feels like entering a Hollywood event, as a literal red carpet greets visitors. Red is decidedly Queen Mary’s color, as the exhibition features a bright red color palette mixed with white and gray accents. At the entrance, a cartoonish portrait of Queen Mary welcomes visitors, along with wall text that introduces them to the show. To the left lies a brief summary of Mary’s life, organizing her story into three distinct acts: her life as a French princess, the Queen of Scots, and a captive under Elizabeth I. A mix of objects illustrates this timeline, focusing on contemporary coinage and print. A single macabre painting, Head of Queen Mary of Scots after Decollation by Amias Cawood, completes the introduction to Queen Mary’s life.
The bulk of the exhibition rests in the next room. Another large portrait of Queen Mary, similar to the one at the entrance, greets visitors at the end of the red carpet. Quotes from multiple languages and sources surrounding her emphasize the extensive variety of opinions regarding the Queen. Throughout the room, various books, medals, prints, and coins illustrate the ways in which Mary’s story has been contorted to fulfill different purposes for competing groups. The exhibition organizes these into two categories: gender and politics. It explores different uses of Queen Mary’s image and what such interpretations demonstrate about broader society. In terms of gender, the exhibition argues, the portrayal of Queen Mary both as ideal and wicked reflects evolving views on the nature of women more than any accurate representation of Mary herself. The section on politics follows a similar argument regarding the political nature of religion, emphasizing Queen Mary’s status as a martyr in the Catholic church.
The room ends at one of only three paintings featured in the exhibition: Gavin Hamilton’s The Abdication of Mary Queen of Scots. This painting—the true highlight of the exhibition—displays Mary as a classical heroine, even at the moment of her supposed failure. Mary stands tall, wearing an elegant blue dress, while various women stand sobbing behind her. A crown slips gently out of her right hand onto a nearby table while a scribe documents her abdication. The light of the painting appears to emit from Mary, imbuing her with an almost divine presence. Painted two centuries after the event it depicts, the wall text explains that this painting was intended to influence the debate around Queen Mary’s true nature, presenting her as an object of beauty and adoration. It is a stunning emotional illustration that invites contemplation from the viewer, a strong ending to the coinage and prints featured throughout the rest of the room.
The ending of the exhibition features a stark difference in color. Instead of bright red like the rest of the show, the final room is coated in blue. This room presents Mary in the modern day through her depictions in comic strips, film, theatre, and consumer goods. Another wall of opinions appears, this time taking quotes from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The final cartoonish portrait of the Queen is multicolored, contrasting the monochrome illustrations in the rest of the exhibition—now the visitor has the tools to form their own opinion of the complex character.
For a visiting American student, this exhibition is incredibly educational. It presents a fascinating image of Queen Mary, illustrating the ways in which historical figures—particularly women—are often morphed and contorted for a variety of uses. It encourages visitors to question the objects rather than accepting them at face value, presenting objects with different motives in direct comparison with one another. Though it is a short exhibition—thirty minutes is more than enough time to explore the space—it provides a rich intellectual experience regarding both Mary and history at large, the perfect experience for a rainy weekday morning.
