The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales

The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales
The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales
The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales
The Trustees of the British Museum
title=Credit line
Artist
Pierre Charles Canot (c.1710-1777) after Wilson
Title
The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales
Date
Published 17 July 1775
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
Metric: 411 x 545 mm
Imperial: 16 3/16 x 21 1/2 in.
Accession Number
1872,0113.873
Wilson Online Reference
E28
Description
A steep single-arched bridge spans a river which divides around a low island in the foreground. From there several figures turn to admire the view of rolling tree-covered hills beneath a large expanse of sky.
Exhibited
SA 1766 (234 - an impression); Conwy 2009 (30 - an impression)
Provenance
Purchased 1872 from Mrs Judkin, wife of the collector the Revd Thomas James Judkin, 49 Euston Square, London
Signature/inscription
Lettered below the image with the title in English and French and 'Richard Wilson Pinxt, | P.C. Canot Sculpt | Published July 17th, 1775 by John Boydell Engraver in Cheapside London'
Subject
William Edwards's bridge over the River Taff at Pontypridd was completed after four attempts in 1756 and measured140 feet (43 metres) in span. It quickly became renowned and for over 40 years, it was the largest single span bridge in Britain.
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Other impressions are at The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (PG00881, 004609364 and 4488829) and the Royal Pavilion, Brighton
Related Paintings
No related painting is known to survive
Related Works by Other Artists
John Clerk of Eldin, Pont Y Pridd, etching and drypoint (5 states, 1776)
Critical commentary
This print is one of the set, Six Views in North and South Wales, all after Wilson, published by John Boydell in 1775. The others are E22, E27, E29, E30 and E31. Solkin suggested that those from the series lacking Boydell's publication line may have been commissioned by Wilson before financial difficulties in the mid-1770s constrained him to sell the plates to Boydell.
Bibliography
R. Gough, Anecdotes of British Topography, London 1768, p. 593; Booth Notes Doc. 7; Edwards 1808, p. 88; Inventaire du Fonds Français: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes, Graveurs du XVIIe siècle, vol. 3, Paris 1930, no. 95; WGC p. 187, pl. 56b; Solkin 1982, pp. 228-29; Pugh 2013, pp. 1, 102, pl. 0.1 (an impression)
Link to WG Constable Archive Record
More Information
An impression belonged to William Lock of Norbury and featured in his sale, Sotheby's London 3-7 May 1821 (619).
Updated by Compiler
2017-06-21 00:00:00