 Architectural evidence suggests that , while the Romanesque style peaked in much of Europe in the later eleventh and early twelfth century , it was still reaching Scotland in the second half of the twelfth century and was revived in the late fifteenth century , perhaps as a reaction to the English perpendicular style that had come to dominate . 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 , a small number of significant crafted items have also survived and , for the end of the period , there is evidence of painting , particularly the extensive commissioning of works in the Low Countries and France . 
