Templar Knight at Roslin Chapel, 1836
Signed and dated by Edinburgh artist R.T. McPherson. This enigmatic pastel painting was kept in the Dalhousie family private art collection for 154 years, before surfacing at Sotheby’s country house sale in 1990. It was auctioned again in 2005 by Shapes of Edinburgh when it was purchased by Niven Sinclair, who commissioned Ashley Cowie to study it.
This bold fusion of form and content depicts a Knight Templar Grand Commander adorned in a white cloak, holding a sword, standing in Rosslyn Chapel. The image is composed of many symbolic and ritual objects, all of which can be related to Freemasonic and neo-Templar rituals. Because little visual material exists on these subjects, this painting offers a unique insight into the Templar and Freemasonic history of Scotland.
This bold fusion of form and content depicts a Knight Templar Grand Commander adorned in a white cloak, holding a sword, standing in Rosslyn Chapel. The image is composed of many symbolic and ritual objects, all of which can be related to Freemasonic and neo-Templar rituals. Because little visual material exists on these subjects, this painting offers a unique insight into the Templar and Freemasonic history of Scotland.