.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Smith made extensive tours of Wales, travelling there every year from 1784-1788, and again in 1790, 1792, 1793, 1795, 1797, 1798, 1801 and 1806. The Welsh watercolours are typically stronger in palette than his Italian work and measure 5¼ x 9½ in. There are 120 examples in the National Library of Wales, Cardiff, and various watercolours have been sold at auction including extensively inscribed views of Penrice Castle and House, Glamorganshire and The two old lighthouses on St. Anne's Head near Milford Haven. Tintern is not included among those views by Smith engraved for publication.
The palette of the present watercolour is unusual for Smith who tended to treat his landscapes in bright day light conditions. Here the watercolours of John Robert Cozens may be called to mind and also the influence of the Rev. William Gilpin's writings and accompanying aquatinted plates.
Another version, signed and dated '1789' was exhibited at Agnew's, 103rd Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings, 1976, no. 11.
The palette of the present watercolour is unusual for Smith who tended to treat his landscapes in bright day light conditions. Here the watercolours of John Robert Cozens may be called to mind and also the influence of the Rev. William Gilpin's writings and accompanying aquatinted plates.
Another version, signed and dated '1789' was exhibited at Agnew's, 103rd Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings, 1976, no. 11.