Artwork
Tower at Pembroke Castle
Tower at Pembroke Castle is an ink print by the Romanticist artist of Eldin, John Clerk. It is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:on verso of mount in pen and ink: The story of Britain's disgrace / Thought nothing so sure / His pen to secure / As to give the Historien a Place / But art 'tis in vain / 'Tis the curse of his reign / That his projects should never succeed / Though he wrote not a line / Great Britain's decline / In the Author's example we read / His book well describes / How corruption and bribes / O'er threw the great Empire of Rome / and his writing dec... [This is a variation on a poem on Edward Gibbon that seems to have first appeared in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1781.]
About this work
Overview
Tower at Pembroke Castle is an etching on laid paper created by John Clerk of Eldin around 1776, portraying the castle in a state of ruin.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts Pembroke Castle as a crumbling, isolated structure on a rocky hill, conveying a sense of abandonment and decay rather than former grandeur.
Technique & Style
Executed through etching, the work features expressive, scratchy ink lines and uneven shading, which impart a tactile quality to the castle's stone textures.
History & Provenance
Notably, Clerk of Eldin created the etching from a secondary sketch, having never personally visited Wales, influencing the work's perspective and interpretation.
Context
As one of the earliest prints to represent Pembroke Castle in a ruined state, it reflects a growing 18th-century interest in antiquity and the aesthetic of decay.
Artist & collection
