Anon. Matlock on the River Derwent, Derbyshire

Sublime Landscapes: Peak District & North Wales 1832

This beautiful painting forms part of a series of works that we have for sale depicting beauty spots, principally around the Peak District and Caernarvonshire and Cardiganshire in Wales: including Dovedale, Matlock, Betws-y-Coed and Capel Curig. The locations share common features of Rev William Gilpin's 'picturesque', exquisitely placed between the 'sublime' and the 'beautiful', such as rugged, towering crags and rushing waterfalls, delicately foliaged trees and old stone buildings. Such features made these locations a draw for Romantic tourists in the early 19th century, and also many artists, most notably J.M.W. Turner. A decade later, Betws-y-Coed would attract David Cox and see the formation of an artist's colony.

The series of paintings was commissioned by Catherine Johnstone née Brome (1775–1833), who was married to William Johnstone, Vicar of Culmington, Ludlow. Catherine's family originated from the Burton upon Trent area, which probably explains the inclusion of Derbyshire and Peak District subjects too. It appears that Catherine's sister Louisa was also a talented artist, and there are a small number of drawings in the collection by Louisa's son, William Hare.