Caernarvon Castle

This item is active and ready to use

Caernarvon Castle

National Museum Wales, Cardiff

title=Credit line

Larger imageShareFeedback

Artist

Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)

Title

Caernarvon Castle

Date

c.1764-65 (undated)

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

Metric: 63.5 x 125.1 cm
Imperial: 25 x 49 1/4 in.

Collection

National Museum Wales, Cardiff. To license image, click here.

Accession Number

NMW A 73

Wilson Online Reference

P12D

Description

The castle is shown with reflections in the centre middle ground, beyond an inlet, with hills in the distance, left. In the foreground a woman plays with two children. There are boats on the water and a prominent tree to the right - all in a sunset light.

Exhibited

SA 1766 (190 - a version); Wembley, British Empire Exhibition, 1925 (V5); London 1934 (205); Birmingham 1948-9 (10); London 1949 (9); Cape Town 1952, British Council (33); RA 1954-5 (117); London, Thomas Agnew & Sons 1956 (32); Brighton 1957 (38); London, Thomas Agnew & Sons 1963; London, British Council 1966/7 (68); Tokyo/Kyoto 1970/1 (52); Conwy 2009 (19)

Provenance

Bt from Shepherd Brothers, London, 15 September 1913

Signature/inscription

Unsigned; no inscription

Techniques and materials

Pigments found in the paint layers are typical for Wilson

Verso inscriptions

Stretcher:
[1] Loan label [destination unknown]
[2] R.A. Winter Exhibition 1954-5, 18th Century, Ser.No. 217
[3] Agnew's, London cat.32
[4] British Council 18/19th century British Painting for Europe, 1966/7, Cat. no.18
[5] British Council, English Landscape, Tokyo & Kyoto, 1970, cat. no. 52
Frame:
[1] British Empire Exhibition, 1925, Dicksee & Co.
[2] British Council, 18/19th century British Painting for Europe 1966/7, Cat. 68
[3] R.A., Exhibition of British Art, 1934, in pencil: 10
[4] Small square label: 326
[5] Japanese label: P-53-48
[6] Small round label - HAB A31
[7] British Council Tercentenary Celebrations, Cape Town 1952, no.26

Subject

Caernarvon Castle, the birthplace of the first Prince of Wales, was built by Edward I. Wilson painted several views of it which vary in topographical accuracy. In this version the landscape has been manipulated to create a balanced, frieze-like composition. The emphasis here is on the transience of human achievement. A mother and children play in front of the decayed symbol of oppression.

Related Prints

E27 William Byrne after Wilson, Caernarvon Castle, The British Museum, and other impressions

Versions

See 'Links' tab

Related Works by Other Artists

[1] Joseph Wright of Derby, Caernarvon Castle by Moonlight, c.1780-85, Manchester City Galleries (1905.7)

Critical commentary

Although Wilson's painted views of Caernarvon Castle include at least one that pre-dated his years in Italy, he seems to have toured in Wales in 1764 or 1765 and may have revisited the site then. Once again, however, he has modified the castle's topography and architecture so as to conform more closely to an idealised classical model.

Previous Cat/Ref Nos

Old accession number: 13.144
Old registration number: 131
1913.1

Bibliography

Pennant 1784, pp. 214-19; The Connoisseur, April 1923; Commemorative Catalogue 1934 (101), pl. XXXVI; Arts Council 1947 (5); WGC, pp. 93, 94, 173 pl. 32b; Cardiff 1961, pp. 24-25; Herrmann 1973, p. 57, pl. 49B; Wolf Eiermann, 2001, pp. 32, pl. 19P; Lord 2009, p. 57, no. 19; Wilson and Europe 2014 (fig.135); Barringer & Fairclough 2014, p. 53

Condition/Conservation

Infra-red reflectography shows some reworking of the composition to remove a tree lower in the left corner and a tower of the castle.The latter shows more clearly in an X-ray image. On the evidence of the craquelure in the sky and of a cross-section the sky has been reworked by the artist.

Caernarvon Castle

Work of Art

Prints

Versions

Exhibitions

Documents