Edinburgh through the Eyes of the Artist

When students arrived in Edinburgh last September after the summer holidays and the annual Edinburgh Fringe festival, they found that the all too frequented Royal Mile was occupied, not by the usual flock of tourists, but by the costumed cast of Frankenstein, including Hollywood stars such as Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac.

Edinburgh as a city has been featured in film and television, notable in more contemporary times for Trainspotting, One Day, and the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. But the city has inspired artists for centuries. Declared a UNESCO World City of Literature, Edinburgh has been known to be home to authors and poets like Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Burns. Famously, it has been the inspiration for novels such as the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as the ever successful book and movie franchise Harry Potter, while also featuring in classics like Hogg’s Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Edinburgh is the artist’s muse, loud and clear.

Edinburgh is the Sublime. Its towering gothic spires inspire awe amongst those who pass by them. The castle, sitting atop its rock throne, is the city’s most imposing sight, a constant from any viewpoint in Edinburgh. Looking out from Waverley Bridge, the eye follows the dramatic drop from Edinburgh Castle to the depths of Princes Street Gardens. The sensation of nerves and excitement is hidden in the corners of Edinburgh’s dark closes, opening up into bustling streets lined with independent shops and cafes. Edinburgh is the Picturesque. New Town and Calton Hill’s neoclassical structures dot a sloping landscape, recalling its title as “Athens of the North.” Walking down Princes Street, with New Town to one side and views of Holyrood Park and Castle Rock to the other, town and country exist in a beautiful balance.

The city is a living monument. Stone proof of the centuries that have come before lie around every corner. Each street is rich, dripping in history. Visually, Edinburgh is a nexus point in time where old meets new, and old meets even older. It is a city upon cities, quite literally, where one foot forward means stepping into an aged medieval close, and two steps back means time travelling into the Georgian era, and moving to the right ever so slightly is landing abruptly into the busy modern reality of St James Quarter and its rather large orange peel. And yet, despite its urbanism, Edinburgh finds a balance in nature, in the tranquillity of Holyrood Park and Portobello Beach and in the peaceful scenes of Princes Street Gardens, Inverleith Park, and the Meadows.

Edinburgh’s appeal lies in its dynamism. It can be anything and everything all at once. On one hand, it is an urban layering of multiple periods and a variety of styles all in contrast with each other. On the other hand, it is a journey into the natural world, with an array of grassy slopes, basalt crags, and lakes. By nature, Edinburgh is a city that inspires art, captivating the mind. It is a city of multiplicity, offering the contrast and variety that provides scope for the imagination. This is Edinburgh through the eyes of an artist.