Edinburgh from the West

A renowned landscape artist, Nasmyth painted a series of prospects of Edinburgh depicting a prosperous, self-confident city. Here, the urban skyline is framed by the tower ruins and rural setting of the foreground. In this harmonious fusion of city and country, Nasmyth signals the growing integration of the two, in the form of the damming of the waters and sluice gates. These hint at the improvement of the falls at the mouth of the River Almond, powering a range of local industries at the time.