Cathedral Rock, Iona 1920

Samuel Peploe captured the essence of Iona's Cathedral Rock with paint on canvas, its craggy forms reaching skyward. The rock formation, almost monumental, evokes the sacred space of a cathedral. Think of the ancient ziggurats of Mesopotamia, or even the Egyptian pyramids—humankind has always been drawn to create or find structures that touch the heavens. These shapes aren’t just about height; they speak to our subconscious desire for spiritual connection, a reaching out to the divine. Consider the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, their spires a physical manifestation of religious fervor, mirroring the rocky spires in Peploe's painting. The recurring motif of reaching for the sky isn't merely structural; it's a psychological yearning, an emotional need to transcend our earthly bounds, echoing through art across millennia.