Llyn Peris with Dolbadarn Castle

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Llyn Peris with Dolbadarn Castle
Llyn Peris with Dolbadarn Castle
Llyn Peris with Dolbadarn Castle
Prudence Cuming Associates
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Llyn Peris with Dolbadarn Castle
Date
Undated
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 93 x 126 cm
Imperial: 36 1/2 x 49 1/2 in.
Collection
Private Collection, London
Wilson Online Reference
P120G
Description
The view is in Caernarvonshire, North Wales, looking south along the lake Llyn Peris, towards the ancient British fortress of Dolbadarn Castle with Snowdon in the distance. On the lake itself ducks are swimming and beyond boats are sailing. Horses graze on the banks to the left and further back a country house with a walled garden is set on a hill. In the foreground two boys are fishing.
Provenance
W.H. Foster, 1918; N. Ricketts, Burlington; Francis Palmer; Arthur Tooth & Sons, London; sold 1930 through Agnews to Lady Congleton, West End Farm, Ebbesbourne Wake, Salisbury, Wiltshire; thence by descent; Anon sale, 'The Property of a Nobleman', Sotheby's London, 9 July 1997 (68); Private Collection, London
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription.
Subject
Dolbadarn Castle was built by Llywelyn Fawr in the early 13th century. It was an important stronghold of the princes of Gwynedd and commanded the route from Caernarvon to the upper valley of the Conwy. According to the traveller and antiquarian Thomas Pennant, the fortress was intended to defend the pass into the interior parts of Snowdonia and was used as a state prison (A Tour in Wales, vol. 2, 1784, p. 157). Overlooking Llyn Peris, the castle was popular with tourists in the late 18th century and became a central image in the history of Wales. It was later the subject of J.M.W. Turner's Diploma picture for the Royal Academy.
Related Drawings
D343 Dolbadarn Castle and Llyn Peris, The British Museum
Related Prints
E78/2 Havell after Wilson, The Ruined Fortress, The British Museum
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Paintings
P112 View in Windsor Great Park, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff;
P127 The Lake of Nemi or Speculum Dianae with Dolbadarn Castle, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
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 (200), Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Critical commentary
In its various versions the composition has been given a number of different titles. According to W.G. Constable, at one stage in its history P120G was called A Winding River.
Bibliography
Pennant 1784, vol. 2, p. 157; WGC, p. 176, pl. 37b (version I, 2)
Condition/Conservation
In a carved wood frame
Updated by Compiler
2025-06-24 00:00:00