Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire

1770–79 (?)

Not on view

Sandby has been called the "father of British watercolor painting," and this watercolor ranks among his largest. The artist sketched in Wales in the 1770s and knew the region’s medieval architecture well but decided in this work to place the ruins of a thirteenth-century Cistercian abbey and chapter house in the background. Our attention is directed instead to Welsh long-horned cattle watering in a stream and framed by young and old trees that evoke the life cycle. Narrative action is supplied by two milkmaids, one of whom stands in safety with full buckets on a small bridge at left and watches a companion run from a bull in the field. Sandby uses monochrome washes, pen and ink, and touches of color to accentuate the animals and figures.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire
Artist: Paul Sandby (British, baptized Nottingham 1731–1809 London)
Date: 1770–79 (?)
Medium: Reed pen, with gray and black ink and watercolor over graphite
Dimensions: Sheet: 26 × 39 3/16 in. (66 × 99.5 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2013
Object Number: 2013.94
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Lady Amelia D'Arcy, Paul Sandby British, red chalk, pencil, and some black chalk — Lady Amelia D'Arcy
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Alto Recorder, Joseph Bradbury British, Wood, ivory, British — Alto Recorder
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