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Carnarvon

Joseph RA Farington

1791

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Romanticism 18th Century Architectural

Dominant colour

Carnarvon is a 1791 by Joseph RA Farington, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Joseph RA Farington
When & what style?: 1791 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This drawing shows an old stone castle perched on a hill, with a smaller building in the foreground. A lone figure walks near the base of the castle walls. The scene looks quiet, with a mix of rough textures and soft shading. The artist used fine lines to build up shadows, giving the stone a gritty look. This was a common way to draw in the 1700s. Check out cross-hatching to see how artists create depth with lines.

The story of this work

Overview

A pen, ink and wash drawing by Joseph Farington from 1791 depicts Carnarvon, featuring a section of the castle’s turreted wall alongside a rural worker’s cottage. The work is inscribed with the title, date and the artist’s signature. Farington employs short, broken pen strokes to distinguish textures, using red ink for outlines in the foreground and black ink to guide the viewer’s gaze toward the background. The composition remains nearly monochromatic, with subtle washes applied sparingly.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Joseph RA Farington

This British watercolour artist documented landscapes of the 1780s and 1790s. He painted Lady Oak, near Cressidge in 1789, a careful view of an ancient tree, and drew Carnarvon in 1791, a sketch of the Welsh town’s…

See the richer artist page