Thomas Girtin, 1775–1802, British, Denbigh Castle, ca. 1793
- Title:
- Denbigh Castle
- Date:
- ca. 1793
- Materials & Techniques:
- Watercolor, pen and black ink and graphite on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper, mounted on moderately thick, moderately textured, beige wove paper
- Dimensions:
- Mount: 9 3/4 × 11 5/8 inches (24.8 × 29.5 cm), Sheet: 6 5/8 × 8 5/8 inches (16.8 × 21.9 cm)
- Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Inscribed in black ink, lower center of mount: "Denbigh Castle."; Verso: inscribed in pen with brown ink, upper center: "Built by Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, to whom Kg Edwd 1st had given the Lordship"
- Credit Line:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
- Copyright Status:
- Public Domain
- Accession Number:
- B1975.3.1148
- Classification:
- Drawings & Watercolors
- Collection:
- Prints and Drawings
- Subject Terms:
- architectural subject | castle | cattle | clouds | hill | landscape | ruins | sky | stone
- Associated Places:
- Cymru | Denbigh | Denbigh Castle | Denbighshire | Europe | United Kingdom | Wales
- Associated People:
- The Virgin Mary
- Access:
- Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details. - Link:
- https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:5860
- Export:
- XML
- IIIF Manifest:
- JSON
The ruins of this thirteenth-century fortified house in North Wales seem austere in the empty landscape, and the blended greys of the fortress are similar to the stretching clouds. A deep picture plane emphasizes Denbigh’s surroundings, and the details of the archway and jagged outlines show the structure’s ruined state. Girtin’s extensive use of watercolor was established through his many sketching trips to Wales. The art form seems useful in terms of examining light and shade cast in shadows in front of the castle, while the series of pointed archways draws the viewer’s eye upward to the cloudy skies. Gallery label for the Art in Focus: Wales(Yale Center for British Art, 2014-04-04 - 2014-08-10)
Art in Focus : Wales (Yale Center for British Art, 2014-04-04 - 2014-08-10) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]
Thomas Girtin (Yale Center for British Art, 1986-01-21 - 1986-03-30) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]
Susan Morris, Thomas Girtin, 1775-1802, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 1986, 36, no. 7, NJ18 .G44 M67 (LC) (YCBA) [YCBA]
Yale Center for British Art, Wales, New Haven, 2014, pp. 8-9, 20, V2519 (YCBA) [YCBA]
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