Jacob More was Scottish but spent much of his career in Italy, pursuing the classical ideal in landscape. Here he takes a subject closer to home, on the Clyde, south-east of Glasgow. However, his figures are dressed in vaguely historical costume, suggesting this is somewhere more ‘antique’ than modern Scotland.

Such a classical vision of the native landscape complemented the rationalism of the Scottish enlightenment; the pursuit of reason and liberty on ancient Roman or Greek models; combined with more romantic yearning for the legendary Highland past.