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    Return to "Boydell" is linked to these Works 42 items
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    The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales

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    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
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    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.
    Collection
    The British Museum. To license image, click here
    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
    WGC/1/1/69
    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

    Work of Art

    Versions

    • Pierre Charles Canot (c.1710-1777)after Wilson, The Great Bridge over the Taafe, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
    • Pierre Charles Canot (c.1710-1777)after Wilson, The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales, The British Museum
    • Pierre Charles Canot (c.1710-1777)after Wilson, The Great Bridge over the Taafe, National Museum Wales, Cardiff

    Exhibitions

    • Conwy, Royal Cambrian Academy, 24 October - 23 December 2009

    Biographies

    • John Boydell (1720-1804)
    • Pierre-Charles Canot (c.1710-1777)

    Documents

    • Edward Edwards, Anecdotes of Painters who have resided or been born in England; with critical Remarks on their Productions
    • John Barrell, Edward Pugh of Ruthin 1763-1813: 'A Native Artist'
    • Benjamin Booth, Unpublished Notes, Document 6: List of Engravers after Wilson and Biographical Notes
    • Benjamin Booth, Unpublished Notes, Document 7: List of Prints after Wilson's Paintings
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