Prospect of Caernarfon Castle from the North

Prospect of Caernarfon Castle from the North
Prospect of Caernarfon Castle from the North
Prospect of Caernarfon Castle from the North
The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
title=Credit line
Artist
William Byrne (1743-1805) after Wilson
Title
Prospect of Caernarfon Castle from the North
Date
Published 17 July 1775
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Metric: Sheet: 507 x 675 mm; plate: 355 x 505 mm
Imperial: Sheet: 20 x 26 9/16 in.; plate: 14 x 19 7/8 in.
Accession Number
PE00194/a
Wilson Online Reference
E27B
Description
View of a Norman castle with angled towers in the walls on the right, overlooking a river, with wooded banks opposite on the left and fields in the distance. On the near side of a broad stretch of water, a woman is milking a cow and two other figures are resting on the bank in the centre foreground.
Signature/inscription
Lettered below the image:
[1] In English and French: CARNARVON CASTLE, | the Birth Place of Edward II. in North Wales || LE CHATEAU DE CARNARVON, | ou le Roy Edouard II. étoit né, dans la Principauté de Galles.
[2] Production details: 'Richd. Wilson pinxt', 'Willm. Byrne sculpt'
[3] Publication line: 'Published July 17th. 1775 by John Boydell, Engraver in Cheapside, London'
Subject
Caernarvon Castle is located on the northern banks of the River Seiont on the Caernarvonshire coast in North Wales, across the Menai Straits from the Island of Anglesey. Its massive ruins offered the traveller in search of the picturesque an impressive reminder of Britain's heroic past. The castle was begun by Edward I in 1284 and his son Edward, the first English Prince of Wales, was born in the great Eagle Tower on 25 April that year.
Versions
See 'Links' tab.
Other impressions are at The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (4609344 & PE194/b)
Related Paintings
P12 Caernarvon Castle, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
P12A Caernarvon Castle, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
P12C Caernarvon Castle with Anglesea in the Distance, Private Collection
P12D Caernarvon Castle, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
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.
Bibliography
R. Gough, Anecdotes of British Topography, London 1768, p. 603; Edwards 1808, p. 88
More Information
An impression belonged to William Lock of Norbury and featured in his sale, Sotheby's London 3-7 May 1821 (619).