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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
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Pembroke Town and Castle
WILSON, Richard (1714-1782
Richard Wilson, originally from Montgomeryshire, is often called ‘the Father of British landscapes’ for the key role he played in the development of the tradition, though he initially trained as a portrait painter. He became the first major artist to popularize images of Wales that went beyond topographical accuracy.
Caiff Richard Wilson, sy’n wreiddiol o Sir Drefaldwyn, ei alw’n aml yn ‘Dad tirluniau Prydain’ am y rôl allweddol a chwaraeodd yn natblygiad y traddodiad, er iddo hyfforddi fel peintiwr portreadau i gychwyn. Ef oedd yr artist mawr cyntaf i boblogeiddio delweddau o Gymru oedd yn mynd y tu hwnt i gywirdeb topograffaidd.)
Here Wilson exaggerates the sweep of the river and the reflections on the water around PembrokeCastle. In the early eighteenth century, the Welsh showed little pride in their own landscape. But Wilson did much to popularize images of Wales. He classicized the landscape, portraying it as a rural idyll dotted with historic ruins. The picture was probably commissioned by William Vaughan of Cors-y-gedol, a major North Wales landowner and the first president of the society of Cymmrodorion.
Collection Area
Art
Item Number
NMW A 64
Creation/Production
WILSON, Richard
Date: 1774
Acquisition
Purchase - ass. of NACF, 20/6/1930
Purchased with support from The National Art Collections Fund, The Marquis of Bute, The Hon. Evan Morgan and Agnew
Measurements
Height
(cm): 102.7
Width
(cm): 128.2
Height
(in): 40
Width
(in): 50
h(cm) frame:123
h(cm)
w(cm) frame:148.5
w(cm)
d(cm) frame:10.5
d(cm)
Techniques
canvas
Material
oil
Location
Gallery 04
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