 Scotland adopted the Romanesque style relatively late and retained and revived elements of its style after the Gothic style had become dominant from the thirteenth century . Much of the best Scottish artwork of the High and Late Middle Ages was either religious in nature or realised in metal and woodwork , and has not survived the impact of time and the Reformation . However , examples of sculpture are extant as part of church architecture , including evidence of elaborate church interiors . From the thirteenth century there are relatively large numbers of monumental effigies . Native craftsmanship can be seen in a variety of items . Visual illustration can be seen in the illumination of charters and occasional survivals of church paintings . Surviving copies of individual portraits are relatively crude , but more impressive are the works or artists commissioned from the continent , particularly the Netherlands . 
