SCOTS have been left in stiches after a major Scottish gallery suggested a makeover for classic artworks to appeal to TikTok users.
The National Galleries of Scotland joined the annual April Fool's Day (or Hunt the Gowk Day) fun with a Facebook post telling followers that they "felt it was time to reframe the collection in line with current trends!".
The organisation then shared pictures of art such as the Skating Minister by Henry Raeburn and the Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer - cropped!
READ MORE: April Fool's Day 2024: What is Scotland's Hunt the Gowk Day tradition
The pictures had been formatted to the size of the perfect Instagram or TikTok video.
A spokesperson from the National Galleries of Scotland said: “We need to keep up with the times.
"Gallery-goers aren’t able to cope with full paintings anymore. They get overwhelmed. Particularly by landscapes. This new narrow format is clearly the way forward… and, of course, it frees up wall space which allows us to display twice as many works.”
With more than 1000 reactions, Scots enjoyed the jibe at modern technology, with one describing the joke as "genius", but another warned "not to give them ideas!".
Artist Jilly Ballantyne jokingly supported the idea, writing: "Great idea. Little bit at a time, leaving the viewer wanting to click for more."
The gallery replied: "Thanks we love the reframe. Certainly more time to take in more works in the collection."
Another suggested: "I trust you'll now also be playing 15-30 seconds of contemporary pop tunes to complement each painting?," with the gallery replying: "This is a great idea! Art and music we will see what we can do."
Other were eagle-eyed, warning users not to take the joke at face value, with one writing: "Good try!! But no gowky enough!"
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