National Gallery Edinburgh

I went to see the perminent collection at the national gallery in edinburg it was free to get in but had a pot for donations. It was very different from all the other galleries I'v been to because it was alot more old fashioned and the artists were all mostly dead. The paintings were all very big with massive gold frames. The subject matter was all very similar landscapes, dogs, horses, ugly babies and men and woman with big chins and wigs. None of the painting particaly seemed to stand out from the others. The painters were obviously very skillfull but I think it is a bit pointless now we have photographs to do realy realistic paintings with not much emotion and the composition seemed abit forced and wierdly put together. The presantation seemed to suggest how important and valuable they were with there massive gold frames and pillers and stuff. It looked more like an old national trust house than a gallery because it was not all white and spaced out but clutteres and over decorative like an old persons house. I did find it interesting seeing people from a really long time ago who didnt exist anymore. There was a table in the middle to do your own watercolours inspired by the paintings. You hardly ever see this in modern art galleries. It would be quite funny at some places like at a Damian Hirst exibition you could chop your own cow in half and put it in a case. I think if i put my chewed up pile of paper in these suroundings it would look very out of place unless it was in a case or had a big gold frame around it people would probably just think it was a pile of rubbish and sweep it up. I think it isn't realy about the old fashioned kind of art but the more modern sort of contempory art with ideas and stuff.