Snowdon from Llyn Nantlle, North Wales

1832

Not on view

Every summer, Robson explored the wilder corners of Britain and sketched subjects he could develop into finished watercolors for London exhibitions. He completed this drawing one year before his death. Its uncluttered composition is anchored by Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales, and it reflects the influence of Robson's teacher, the artist John Varley (1778-1842). Beautifully applied washes have been enlivened with a few telling details. Tones progress from a warm sunlit foreground inhabited by two shepherds to dappled, foliage-covered hills to cool shadows defining the distant mountain. The critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) wrote that Robson's finest watercolors were "serious and quiet in the highest degree [and] certain qualities of atmosphere and texture in them have never been excelled."

Artwork Details

Title: Snowdon from Llyn Nantlle, North Wales
Artist: George Fennel Robson (British, Durham 1788–1833 London)
Date: 1832
Medium: Graphite and watercolor with gum
Dimensions: sheet: 7 7/8 x 11 3/4 in. (20 x 29.8 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2009
Object Number: 2009.451
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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