Paintings and Altar in St Margaret's Chapel
The 7 paintings and altar were gifted by John David Gordon 6th of Wardhouse
(1774-1850) who had settled and married in Spain. He provided £1000 towards the
construction of the Chapel
The Altar
Jose Luis Diez
Jefe Department of Painting and
Sculpture 19th Century
Prado Museum, Madrid
29/10/99
Dear Sir,
It gives me pleasure to answer your
letter in which you sought my opinion regarding a series of religious paintings on
Christ’s Passion given in 1840 by John David Gordon to the Chapel in Huntly,
Aberdeenshire which you sent me on floppy disc.
In my opinion the paintings
are of fairly good quality painted by a minor artist , definitely at the dawn of the 18th
century. They are copies from religious prints thus reducing their artistic interest
and value.
The paintings were probably taken
from a convent or chapel in Andalucia when all Spanish church buildings were confiscated
at the time of the overthrow of Mendizabal.
I regret that I am unable to give
you more precise information and hope that I have helped you in some way.
With kind regards,
Jose Luis Diez