View near Beddgelert, North Wales about 1799 Thomas Girtin 1775-1802 and J.M.W. Turner 1775-1851 Pencil, watercolour and stopping out on laid paper Lent by the National Museums & Galleries of Wales, Cardiff. Purchased with the assistance of the National Art Collections Fund, 2002

Room 4 View near Beddgelert, North Wales Girtin exhibited this watercolour at the Royal Academy in 1799, where it made a great impression on a number of reviewers, who were unanimous in their praise. The simple grandeur of the mountains, the brooding drama of the sky, the empty foreground, the limited range of colours, and the monumental scale of the piece, provided an image of nature at its most sublime.