大象传媒 Scotland - 大象传媒 Scotland - The imposter at the heart of Scotland鈥檚 favourite painting

The imposter at the heart of Scotland鈥檚 favourite painting

4 May 2018

He’s the star of one of the country’s best-known paintings; admired by millions and inspiring countless imitations, but the Monarch of the Glen is harbouring a secret.

As revealed on Landward, the famous stag, standing proudly above all others in the rugged Highland wilderness, is not actually a monarch at all.

Monarch of the Glen

The cultural significance of the Monarch of the Glen.

The Monarch of the Glen was painted in 1851 by Sir Edwin Landseer, a hugely popular figure in the 19th Century, and Queen Victoria’s favourite artist.

Stags are classified by the number of points on their antlers.

In Landseer’s painting, the stag has six on each, making a total of 12 and therefore marking him as a mere ‘royal’ stag.

To be considered a true monarch, a stag should have a total of 16 points.

However, this discrepancy has not prevented the Monarch of the Glen from becoming an iconic image of Scotland.

While for some, he sits uncomfortably in Scottish culture and is considered an embarrassing cliché, for others he’s a much-loved national treasure.

So much so, that the public recently donated more than a quarter of a million pounds to help keep the painting in Scotland and prevent it from being sold overseas.

Number of antler points	Classification
12 points	Royal stag
14 points	Imperial stag
16 points	Monarch stag

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