Yale Center for British Art
Creator:
David Cox, 1783–1859, British
Title:
Llanfair Church, North Wales for A Treatise on Landscape Painting and Effect in Water Colours
Date:
ca. 1813
Materials & Techniques:
Graphite and red chalk on thin, smooth, cream wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 5 5/8 x 15 3/4 inches (14.3 x 40 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1981.25.2423
Gallery Label:
For the illustrations to the initial stage of the progressive lessons in the Treatise (cat. 15), from which the beginner was to learn to draw in pencil, the medium employed was soft-ground etching, which mimicked the look of pencil drawing. Cox’s soft-ground etchings for the Treatise begin with a series of small details—agricultural implements, architectural elements, and fishing boats. These are followed by an array of picturesque buildings—thatched cottages, cross-timbered manors, rustic churches, water mills, windmills, and castle ruins—a series of tree types, and a few more general landscapes. Apart from a few simplified outlines of cottages and castles, the etchings are richly detailed. Llanfair Church, North Wales is the graphite drawing for the soft-ground etching reproduced as plate 19. Gallery label for Sun, Wind, and Rain - The Art of David Cox (Yale Center for British Art, 2008-10-16 - 2009-01-04)