This image is a digital (3D) reconstruction of Ruthven Castle near Kingussie in the Scottish Highlands. A military barracks replaced the castle during the eighteenth-century Jacobite uprisings - now known as Ruthven Barracks. This speculative reconstruction depicts the castle of Alexander Stewart, 'Wolf of Badenoch', who likely adapted this from an earlier stronghold belonging to the powerful clan Comyn. The reconstruction shows a hall range within a rectangular curtain wall enclosure with weakly projecting corner turrets defending the southeast approach. The mound juts out into marginal wetlands that were drained in later centuries but remain prone to flooding today. The castles at Balvenie, Lochindorb, and Old Inverlochy - also former strongholds of the Comyns, which were forfeited after the clan lost power when Robert I seized the throne in 1306, partially influence this visual interpretation.
Commissioned Work (November, 2020). Client: badenochstorylands.com / Cairngorms National Park Authority
Software / Tools
Blender 3D, Cycles Render Engine, Photoshop
Image © Copyright
Artist: Bob Marshall. 2020
Image rights owner: badenochstorylands.com / Cairngorms National Park Authority. Please seek the permission of the owner to use or display this image elsewhere. More information can be found on my Licensing information page.
