Prints and Drawings Room
View by appointment- Artist
- John Sell Cotman 1782–1842
- Medium
- Graphite, watercolour and gum arabic on paper
- Dimensions
- Support: 256 × 346 mm
- Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Purchased as part of the Oppé Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
- Reference
- T08830
Display caption
Caernarfon, with its magnificent castle, was a favourite tourist spot at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Many artists created images of its scenery.
Cotman was one of the most innovative watercolour artists of his generation. Here, he has abandoned the more detailed and incident-filled approach to landscape favoured by older artists such as Thomas Hearne and Paul Sandby. Instead, the composition is entirely about evocative
light effects and sublime mystery.
Gallery label, September 2004
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