Llyn Peris and Dolbadarn Castle, North Wales

Llyn Peris and Dolbadarn Castle, North Wales
Llyn Peris and Dolbadarn Castle, North Wales
Llyn Peris and Dolbadarn Castle, North Wales
Private Collection, Nottinghamshire
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) and later intervention
Title
Llyn Peris and Dolbadarn Castle, North Wales
Date
Undated
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 43 x 52.7 cm
Imperial: 16 15/16 x 20 3/4 in.
Collection
Private Collection, Nottinghamshire
Wilson Online Reference
P120D
Description
The view is in Caernarvonshire (Gwynedd), North Wales, looking south along Llyn Padarn [sic], towards the ancient British fortress of Dolbadarn Castle and Llyn Peris beyond. However, in contrast to most other versions, there is no trace of Snowdon in the distance and the buildings next to the tower have an Italianate appearance. A figure in red is visible beneath the cliffs on the far shore.
Provenance
Probably J.E. Fattorini, Bradford; J.C. Butterwick; Thomas Agnew, sold between 1940 and 1946; Anon sale, Sotheby's, London, 6 April 1993 (67), bt present owner
Signature/inscription
Unsigned, no inscription
Techniques and materials
Angular outlines of the sky around the buildings may be explained as overpaint related to the golden patch to their right. The figure at the left is schematic in style.
Related Drawings
D343 Dolbadarn Castle and Llyn Peris, The British Museum
Related Prints
E78/2 Frederick James Havell after Wilson, The Ruined Fortress, The British Museum
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Works by Other Artists
[1] Gaspard Dughet, Ideal Landscape , c.1658-60, Glasgow Museums
[2] Paul Sandby, Llyn Peris and Dolbadarn Castle, watercolour, 1764, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
[3] George Barret, Sr Llanberis Lake and Dolbadarn Castle in the Mountains of Wales, 1777, Nottingham Castle Art Gallery and Museum, Nottingham
[4] J.M.W. Turner, Dolbadarn Castle, RA 1800, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Critical commentary
Compositionally the present painting is most closely related to P120B.
Bibliography
Pennant 1784, vol. 2, p. 157; WGC, pp. 176-7, pl. 37b II(1)
Link to WG Constable Archive Record
Condition/Conservation
Cream/grey ground. There was some repainting of the smaller tree surrounds at the right and a marked pentimento of a figure under the water in the foreground on a horse, going to the right and led by another figure to the left (no longer visible). Much retouching is visible under UV light. The contrast between the dark foreground tones and the light background is normal. Blanched retouchings round the silhouetted trees on the right in the middle distance have not been concealed. The picture, on a nineteenth-century stretcher, seems to have been partly cleaned intermittently. Relined twice, latterly c.1900-20, when considerable areas of foliage must have overheated, thus accounting for its unusual appearance. Conserved in 2013.
Updated by Compiler
2021-06-24 00:00:00