International team of world-class decorators descend on castle

May 5 2010 by Gillian MacDonald, Stirling Castle General Manager

WE’VE got the Decorators in – though perhaps I’m understating things a little.

In fact we have an international team of world-class decorators in place, who are transforming the walls and ceilings of the castle’s royal palace.

They are playing a key role in our project to return the king’s and queen’s apartments to how they might have looked in the 1540s.

Amazingly our team probably have a lot in common with the decorators employed by James V and Mary of Guise in the mid-16th century.

John Nevin and his son Mark, for example, are multiple award-winners whose work has included the Royal Yacht Britannia, Hopetoun House and Mount Stewart House.

Just what the king might have liked. Alongside them, palette in hand, is the world-renowned Frenchman Michel Nadai with a couple of graduates from his Nadaï-Verdon Advanced School of Decorative Painting.

Michel is a master of trompe l'oeil, which was hugely popular among the Renaissance rich and powerful. The technique, which fools the eye into believing two-dimensional paintings are three-dimensional objects, is being used throughout the royal apartments.

He is pleased to be working on the project because it allows him to get as close as possible to what it was like to have been a French artist and decorator of the 16th-century. I say French because the evidence suggests that Mary of Guise imported top talent from her homeland.

We even have a likely name – Pierre Quesnel. In 1542 Pierre was listed as the queen’s painter, and he was certainly involved at Falkland Palace.

We’re calling May our Royal Court month and there family-friendly entertainment every weekend.

This includes The King’s New Palace on the 8th and 9th when visitors can step back in time and meet James V and Mary of Guise, and their entourage, as they arrive to admire their new residence.

It’s a chance to find out about the politics, intrigue and conflict of the period and discover more about 16th century fashions, weaponry, food and entertainment. The event runs from 12.30pm to 3.30pm each day, with admission included in the normal ticket price. The following weekend there will be a fabulous falconry display where you can see the birds up close and in flight.

In May there will also be a special exhibition of a series of super poems and short stories inspired by Stirling Castle which are being shown in the Nether Bailey from Friday, May 14 at 2.30pm to Friday, May 21 as part of Adult Learners’ Week. Entitled Castles in the Sky, the work is an imaginative mix of styles and original ideas and has been produced by members an adult writing group tutored by author Gill Bastock and run as a partnership between Historic Scotland’s Education Unit and Stirling Council’s Adult Literacy Department.

To keep up to date with all that’s happening at Stirling Castle, receive a free enewsletter and read the weekly blog, just visit the website at www.stirlingcastle.gov.uk