The further political and religious upheavals of the Civil War era saw a good many Scottish artists decamping overseas to escape the turmoil. Conversely, several of the major figures to emerge in Scotland following the Restoration in 1660 were of foreign birth, among them the Dutchman Jacob de Wit (1640-1697), who worked on the decoration of Holyrood Palace, and whose painting The Highland Wedding, which transposes Dutch genre conventions to a Scottish folk setting, is seen as a forerunner of later work in this vein by the likes of Allan Ramsay and David Wilkie. 

Another important and highly influential immigrant was John de Medina (1659-1710), originally from Flanders, who came to Scotland in 1694. His arrival coincided with a rising demand for portraits among Scotland’s aristocracy, and he died a naturalised Scot, complete with knighthood. Even his formal paintings, such as that of the famous Scottish polymath Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, are distinguished by their lively characterisation, revealing a concern and empathy with individual humanity further highlighted in his depiction of the butler David Ayton, and a tender double portrait of his own children.

The volume of work that kept Medina in Scotland, despite his original intention of a short visit, was reflected in the wider elevation in status of artists from craftsman to a professional class – although a strong craft tradition persisted in painting, as is evident from the list of founding signatories who established Scotland’s first art institution, the Academy of St Luke, in 1729, which was dominated by tradesmen.

Although the primary aim of this body was to boost the position of painting after the loss of patronage with the 1707 Union, its immediate successor, the Trustees Academy, was founded in 1760 under the auspices of the Edinburgh Board of Manufacturers, with the aim of improving design in the linen industry, although it soon expanded into the role of a more conventional art school. It was subsequently merged into the Royal Scottish Academy school, and thence into the new Edinburgh College of Art on its foundation in 1906.

Significant painters of the earlier 18th century included William Aikman (1682-1731), a pupil of Medina’s, John Smibert (1688-1751) and John Alexander (1686-1766) – although the former two both left Scotland, for London and America, following the post-Union decline in the native art market. The sophistication and classical elements in the work of all three reflect their studies in Italy, alongside the continuing influence of Dutch empiricism.