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Lindisfarne Castle, Holy Island, Northumberland

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts | CC0 1.0

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Date

1796-1797

Artist

Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)

Collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Image Link

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/341793

Description

Holy Island is dramatically situated on the northeast coast of England and is reached at low tide by a track over the sand. This watercolor was likely based on sketches Girtin made during his tour to Scotland and northern England in the summer and early fall of 1796, and probably dates from 1797, when he exhibited ten subjects from the tour at the Royal Academy. Much influenced by J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) and by John Robert Cozens (1752–1797), Girtin imparted a visionary grandeur to the scene. The massive basalt rock, rising above the shore and topped by a sixteenth-century castle, becomes the focus of the composition, overshadowing tiny human figures in the foreground. Relegated to the distant left background are the harbor, fishing village, and church of Saint Mary, with its extensive ruins of a priory and monastery. Medium: watercolour.

Image Licence

CC0 1.0

Image Credit

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts

Location

Lindisfarne Castle, Northumberland, England

Country

Medium

Tags

Castles
Cliffs
Coasts
Hills

Category

Buildings & Architecture

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform