Left: exterior of The Queen's Gallery. Photographer: Antonia Reeve, The Royal Collection © 2002 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Mark McLaughlin puts his own spin on the opening of a significant new gallery for Edinburgh.

In the shadow of the Scottish Parliament building, with its spiralling costs of £308 million at last count, stands the ultimate expression of 500 years of Royal decadence.

Right: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). The bust of a man, full face, and the head of a lion, c.1505-10. The Royal Collection © 2002, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen's Gallery, the first permanent exhibition space for the Royal Collection in Scotland, opened at the Palace of Holyrood House, Edinburgh on November 30th.

It was designed by Benjamin Tindall Architects in the building of the former Holyrood Free Church and Duchess of Gordon's School at the entrance to the Palace.

The new gallery provides purpose-built facilities and state-of-the-art environmental technology to house the most delicate and precious art works from the Royal household.

Its inaugural exhibition couldn't be more apt for artworks displayed amongst so much profligacy.

Left: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Two grotesque profiles confronted, c.1485-90. The Royal Collection © 2002 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Leonardo Da Vinci: The Divine and the Grotesque is the largest exhibition of the master's work in Scotland.

It features 68 drawings, taken mainly from the print room at Windsor Castle, which focus on Leonardo's obsession with extremes of human form and emotion.

The works on display are more historically significant than artistically striking, as they feature ideas that Leonardo would later incorporate into his greatest works.

Works such as The Head of the Madonna; which recalls the enigmatic smile of The Mona Lisa, and his extensive depictions of the Madonna's divine form.

Right: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) The head of Leda, c. 1505-6. The Royal Collection © 2002 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The Bust of a Man and the Head of a Lion appears to be the same lined and worn face featured in Leonardo's celebrated Study of Proportions.

The gallery also features a range of expressions, and studies of the anatomy of the face, that were later used in The Last Supper.

The Divine and the Grotesque is an interesting, but ultimately unsatisfying, exhibition that merely points towards greater things.

The drawings on display have a lot in common with the Parliament building outside - a work in progress imbued with expense and significance that were neither expected nor intended.