Anon. St Davids Bishop's Palace, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Castles & Cathedrals of Wales: Topographical Drawings c.1826

This drawing forms part of a charming collection of pictures that we have for sale depicting the picturesque castles and cathedrals of Wales, from Conwy Castle in the north and Cardiff Castle in the south, to St Davids Cathedral in the east and Llanthony Priory in the west. Executed on 1826 J Whatman wove paper, the drawings exemplify the topographical landscape drawing style which flourished in England in the late 18th and early 19th century. Before the advent of photography, drawing was the only way to visually record a landscape; in the late 18th century (under the tutelage of topographical artist and engraver Paul Sandby) topographical drawing was taught to artillery officers and engineers at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, in order to record the lay of the land for military positioning.

Going into the 19th century, the interest and the pleasure that such images afforded the wider public was increasingly fulfilled by the publication of illustrated volumes, such as county histories and illustrated travel books. The present collection of drawings exemplifies the exacting and precise style of topographical draughtsmanship, with emphasis put on the specificity of the view (NNW or SE etc), which would often include small figures in the scene for a sense of scale. These drawings also evidence the early 19th-century taste for the picturesque: the preoccupation with ivy-clad ruins sited amidst framing landscape foliage.

The early topographical tradition initiated a growing interest in landscape art that blossomed in the 19th century.