''Snowdon from Capel Curig'' is an oil on canvas

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

by the French-British

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

Philip James de Loutherbourg Philip James de Loutherbourg, RA (born Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg; 31 October 174011 March 1812) was a French-born British painter who became known for his large naval works, his elaborate set designs for London theatres, and his invent ...

, from 1787. It depicts

Snowdon Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...

, a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. It is viewed from the near the village of

Capel Curig Capel Curig (; meaning " Curig's Chapel") is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Historically in Caernarfonshire, it lies in the heart of Snowdonia, on the River Llugwy, and has a population of 226, reducing slightly to 206 ...

which can be seen on the right foreground of the painting. The mountain was a popular tourist destination in the eighteenth century. It was one of three views of Snowdon that Loutherbourg displayed at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

's Summer Exhibition of 1787 at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Today the painting is in the

Yale Center for British Art The Yale Center for British Art at Yale University in central New Haven, Connecticut, houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, rare ...

, in

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, as part of the Paul Mellon Collection.https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:403

References

Bibliography

* Freeman, Michael. ''Victorians and the Prehistoric: Tracks to a Lost World''. Yale University Press, 2004. * Preston, Lillian Elvira. ''Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg: Eighteenth Century Romantic Artist and Scene Designer''. University of Florida, 1977. 1787 paintings Paintings in the Yale Center for British Art Paintings by Philip James de Loutherbourg Landscape paintings Wales in art {{1780s-painting-stub