- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) after (?) Edward Dayes (1763-1804)
- Title
-
- Dolbadarn Castle on Llyn Padarn
- Date
- 1794 - 1797
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 14.9 × 23.8 cm, 5 ⅞ × 9 ⅜ in
- Subject Terms
- Castle Ruins; Lake Scenery; North Wales
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG0910
- Description Source(s)
- Gallery Website; Collection Catalogue
Provenance
Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833); his posthumous sale, possibly Christie's, 26 June 1833, lot 87 as 'Llanberis, &c. 5' by 'Turner'; bought by 'Colnaghi', £3 3s; ... Joseph Mayer (1803–86); his posthumous sale, Sotheby’s, 23 July 1887, lot 551 as by Joseph Mallord Turner; bought by 'Hibbert', £5; then by descent to A. Hibbert; Nelly Nussbaumer; her sale, Sotheby's, 15 July 1964, lot 42 as 'Dolbadarn Tower from Lake Llanberis' by Joseph Mallord William Turner; bought by Alexander Abraham, £200; his sale, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, 7 April 1966, lot 83 as by Joseph Mallord William Turner; bought by Sir Edwin Alfred Grenville Manton (1909–2005); Manton Family Art Foundation, 2005–07; presented to the Institute, 2007
Exhibition History
Münster, 2019, no.3
Bibliography
Wilton, 2001, pp.33–34 as by Joseph Mallord William Turner and Thomas Girtin; Clarke, 2012, no.140, p.265 as by Joseph Mallord William Turner and Thomas Girtin; Bishop, 2018–19, pp.91–92
Place depicted
Other entries in Monro School Copies:
British Views, Including Works after the Outlines of John Henderson

An Upland Landscape with a Rainbow, Said to Be Lowther Fells
Kendal Town Hall

Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Dover Castle, Seen from the Beach
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Upland Scene with a Wooded Valley
Leeds University Art Gallery

Unidentified Medieval Ruins, with Agricultural Buildings
Tate, London

A View near Keswick, Probably Bassenthwaite Lake
Private Collection

Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite Lake, from the Vale of Newlands
Private Collection

Looking South into Borrowdale, from the Shore of Derwentwater
Private Collection

Mountainous Landscape, Possibly in the Lake District
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool

Boon Crag Cottage, with Coniston Water Beyond
Private Collection

A View in Cumbria, Probably Looking from Irton Fell towards Ravenglass
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

A View in Cumbria, Looking towards Irton and the Irish Sea, with the Isle of Man in the Distance
Tate, London

The River Leven, Cumbria, Viewed from Penny Bridge
Tate, London

St John's Vale, Cumbria
Private Collection

The Lodore Falls
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Langdale Pikes
Private Collection

An Unidentified Bridge over a Stream, Possibly in North Wales
Private Collection

Derwentwater, with Skiddaw in the Distance
Eton College, Windsor

Beddgelert Bridge, North Wales
Private Collection

A Mountainous Landscape with an Overshot Mill
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

A Mountainous River Landscape with a Bridge
Private Collection

Cynwyd Mill, near Corwen, North Wales
Brandler Galleries, Brentwood

Conwy: The Town Walls from the South East
Tate, London

Raglan Castle: The Great Hall
Private Collection

A Mountainous Landscape with an Unidentified Bridge, Possibly in North Wales
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale
Private Collection

An Estuary, Possibly Dartmouth
Private Collection

Grasmere: Looking North West to Helm Crag
Private Collection

The Head of Lake Windermere
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

The Head of Derwentwater, with the Lodore Falls
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with Shipping Being Overhauled
Tate, London

A Two-Master in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London

Dover Harbour: A Ship Being Overhauled
Tate, London

A Boat on the Shore, near Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
Tate, London

Dover Harbour: Fishing Vessels, Their Sails Drying
Tate, London

Shipping in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London

A Lake View, Possibly Ullswater
Private Collection

A General View of Dover Harbour, from the East
Tate, London

Dover Harbour: Small Boats by the Quay
Tate, London

Boats in Dover Harbour
British Museum, London

A Ship under Repair in Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Figures on a Fishing Vessel in Dover Harbour
Private Collection

A Fishing Vessel with Hastings Beyond
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery

Dover Castle from the Sea
Private Collection

A Beached Vessel in the Inner Harbour at Dover
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with the Castle on the Hill
British Museum, London

Dover Harbour
Private Collection

Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton

Vessels Anchored in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Warehouses with Shipping in Dover Harbour
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton

Vessels in the Harbour at Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with the Cliffs Beyond
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart

Vessels Moored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection

The Inner Harbour, Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Brighton Museum and Art Gallery

A Ship Drawn Up on a Beach Being Careened
Private Collection

Beached Fishing Vessels, Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Beached Fishing Vessels in the Harbour at Dover
Private Collection

Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with Fishing Boats at Low Tide
The High Museum of Art, Atlanta

Dover: The Harbour with Vessels
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

A Smack in Dover Harbour, Drying Sails, with the Old Church in the Distance
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Dover Harbour: A Boat under Repair
Private Collection

Fishing Boats at Low Tide, near Dover
Courtauld Gallery, London

Dover: Two Boatmen Standing by the Prow of a Brig
Private Collection

Dover Harbour
Private Collection

A Fisherman's Cottage, Said to Be at Dover
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Hull of a Ship under Repair, with a Barge and Smaller Boats
Tate, London

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the Medway
Private Collection

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Private Collection

A Boat-Builder's Shed, Possibly on the River Medway
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

A Boat-Builder’s Shed, Possibly on the River Medway, with a Fishing Boat with Drying Sails
Tate, London

The Coast, near Dover
The Higgins, Bedford

Folkestone Harbour
Julian Huxley-Parlour Fine Art, London

Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
Ulster Museum, Belfast

Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Buildings on a Wooden Quayside
Private Collection

A Coast View with Chalk Cliffs, Probably from near Beachy Head
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

A Small Boat under Repair by a Jetty
Private Collection

Dover: Snargate Street, Looking West
Private Collection

Dartford High Street
Private Collection

Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Rye, from the River Tillingham
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Dover: Fishing Boats at Low Tide
Private Collection

Two Boatmen Caulking the Bows of a Beached Brig, Probably at Dover
Private Collection

Hastings: A Beached Fishing Boat
Private Collection

A Coastal Scene at Dover
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery

Mickleham Church
Tate, London

Dolbadarn Castle on Llyn Padarn
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

Conwy Castle, from the East
Huddersfield Art Gallery

Harlech Castle, from the South
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

The Gatehouse, Harlech Castle, Seen from the Moat
Private Collection, Gloucestershire

The High Street at Egham
Private Collection

Boats in Dover Harbour
Leeds Art Gallery

Two Trees Overlooking a Meandering River
Private Collection

A Dilapidated Cottage
Private Collection

Dover: Boats Anchored in the Harbour
Private Collection

A Coastal View near Dover, probably at St Margaret's, Cliffe
Private Collection

Dover: Beached Boats, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection

Dover Harbour: The Stern of a Large Ship, and Smaller Vessels
Tate, London

The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
British Museum, London
Footnotes
- 1 The full diary entry, giving crucial details of the artists’ work at Monro’s house, is transcribed in the Documents section of the Archive (1798 – Item 2).
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About this Work
This view of the thirteenth-century Dolbadarn Castle on a promontory overlooking Llyn Padarn, north-west of Snowdon, was made at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833), where Girtin and his contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) were employed across three winters, probably between 1794 and 1797. Their task, as they recalled to the diarist Joseph Farington (1747–1821), was to copy ‘the outlines or unfinished drawings of’ principally John Robert Cozens (1752–97), but other artists too, including Girtin’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804). The ‘finished drawings’ they were commissioned to produce were the result of a strict division of labour: ‘Girtin drew in outlines and Turner washed in the effects’. As the young artists reported, ‘They went at 6 and staid till Ten’, with Turner receiving ‘3s. 6d each night’ whilst ‘Girtin did not say what He had’ (Farington, Diary, 12 November 1798).1 The outcome of their joint labours was substantial, amounting to several hundred drawings of which nine or so are views in North Wales.
Neither Girtin nor Turner is likely to have visited North Wales by the time of the production of this work, and the Monro School Welsh views were presumably made after compositions by other artists, principally Dayes, who also provided the models for the Lake District scenes. As with the numerous copies that Girtin and Turner created from compositions by Cozens, it was the slight sketches and outlines that Dayes made on his travels that were used as the source for their more finished watercolours. Monro’s posthumous sale, in 1833, contained several hundred of Dayes’ sketches, including a dozen or so ‘Views of North Wales’ described as ‘blue and Indian ink sketches’, the medium favoured by the artist for his on-the-spot studies (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 2 July 1833, lot 47). Typically, the precise Dayes source of this popular view of the castle tower near Llanberis has not been traced, though this does not mean we should look elsewhere for its model. Few of Dayes’ sketches have survived and, arguably, the fact that no source can be found suggests that it was a thoroughly unprepossessing drawing that required considerable transformational skills from the young artists.
Monro’s posthumous sale contained more than twenty ‘Views in Wales’ as well as two of ‘Llanberis’, all of which were attributed to Turner (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 26 June 1833, lots 87 and 88). The attribution of the Monro School copies solely to Turner has been challenged in recent years, following the publication of Andrew Wilton’s pioneering article in 1984 (Wilton, 1984a, pp.8–23), and Girtin’s contribution to this work is acknowledged in the catalogues of the collection by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown (Wilton, 2001, pp.33–34; Clarke, 2012, no.140, p.265). Although the watercolour was more extensively worked by Turner in the middle ground than was commonly the case with the Welsh views, enough of Girtin’s distinctive pencil work remains visible, particularly in the distant mountains, to be reasonably sure of his involvement, albeit at the most basic level, copying a simple outline from another drawing. Turner’s pencil drawing of the same view of Dolbadarn, which was executed on his Welsh tour in 1798, is in the ‘Hereford’ sketchbook, part of the Turner Bequest at Tate Britain (XXXVIII 47).