The ridges and tensions of the immense chest high above you – the statue is more than twice the height of a living person, still higher because of the tall plinth – drink in nuances of shadow so that, up close, David is richly shaded: the belly button a pool of darkness, the nipples and ribs collecting delicate grey-greens.
The refurbished room is unlike anything else you'll find elsewhere in Edinburgh: a feminine palette of soft greys, with delicate hand-painted murals and intricate plasterwork.
The delicate greens, greys and ambers of the heather and grasses glow gently beneath the blank grey sky.
A sensitive restoration lets the original features sing: soaring ceilings with delicate plasterwork, grey-green walls, and giant beds backed by carved wooden screens.
A cat and mouse in soft shades of grey, with delicate flowers in grey and a subdued red, decorate the only sheets for a child's bed (54 inches by 70 inches, about $10 for three pieces).
Memorable tableaux include Maliphant as a mysterious, numinous onnagata, Guillem dancing a frenzied solo in her petticoats, or silhouetted in delicate shades of grey before a doorway that might also be a guillotine, and the three of them swaying like hypnotised lizards in front of a mirror, attempting to plait together the strands of the Chevalier's personality.
The poet Lorca had interesting things to say both about the severe tonalities of Velázquez, and Gainsborough's delicate pinks and greys.
At Dior, designer John Galliano showed a selection of beautiful floor-length gowns, with light-as-air ruffles and delicate embroidery in pale grey and rose pink.
It truly was a spectacular design with tufted throne chairs made of rich blush and grey velvet, delicate antique tabletop in baby blues, teal and white nestled among a floral motif sugar and cream sets.
