Dovedale
unkown artist
No date set
This watercolour is signed in the right hand corner ‘Dovedale, John Glover, 1830’; however there is some doubt as to whether this is correct as the style of the watercolour suggests an earlier date.
Dovedale is a section of the river Dove, about three miles long, which is enclosed by a limestone gorge. The rock formations and caves were popular subjects for artists as they not only provided a sense of novelty and intrigue, but also the picturesque. When William Gilpin visited he wrote, ‘From the description given of Dove-dale even by men of taste, we had conceived it to be a scene rather of curiosity than of beauty. We supposed the rocks were formed into the most fantastic shapes; and expected to see a gigantic display of all the comic sections. But we were agreeably deceived. The whole composition is chaste, and picturesquely beautiful, to a high degree.’
Additional information
- Medium: Watercolour
- Institution: Buxton Museum and Art Gallery
- Dimensions: 340mm x 270mm
- Accession number: DERSB : 100194
- Acknowledgements: William Gilpin, Observations, relative chiefly to Picturesque Beauty, vol 2, 1788, 228
Location
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