Scènes romantiques et pittoresques, de l'Angleterre et du pays de Galles / The Romantic and Picturesque Scenery of England and Wales

Name of traveller

Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg (1740-1812)

Reason for travel

• landscape painting for the purpose of producing this publication

Date of travel

undated, estimated ca. 1786, possibly dating to a later tour in 1800

[Le Widdfa ou Le Visible:] A la vérité, la montagne étant fréquemment enveloppée de nuages ou de pluie, le ciel n’est pas souvent assez serein, pour qu’on puisse jouir à souhait de cette perspective. Mais la vue est encore plus sublime, lorsque de cette hauteur on voit les montagnes voisines tantôt s’élever au-dessus des brouillards que le vent agite au-dessous, et tantôt se plonger et disparoître dans l’abîme. (Loutherbourg n.p.)

Content

• agriculture:
  • description of keeping deer in the royal forest
  • cattle, sheep and goats roaming freely
• architecture:
  • depiction of ruined castles in dramatic landscapes
  • compares cottages in Llanrwst to huts in the south Pacific as described by James Cook (1728-1779)
• art: aquatint illustrations based on pen and inkwash drawings by Loutherbourg; coloured by John Clark
• history:
  • great interest in Welsh history
  • reference to frequently changing borders between Wales and England, especially Monmouthshire
  • veneration of St Germanus of Auxerre (c. 375-c. 345) in north Wales and description of historic battle
  • notes on Hywel Dda (c. 880-950)
  • glad that ages of warfare between Wales and England have passed
• language: illustrated travel account with parallel texts in English and French
• terrain:
  • geographical labels differentiate between Wales, England and Great Britain
  • people in images are dwarved by picturesque, dramatic landscapes
  • vista from the top of Snowdon, claims he can see as far as Yorkshire, Scotland and Ireland
  • rainy weather adds to the sublime landscapes
  • quotes Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) on descriptions of geology
• transport: ascends Snowdon on a pony
• compare with two other manuscript collections of ink sketches
• click the following links to view Loutherbourg's illustrations: Tintern Abbey, Chepstow Castle, Melyn y Nant, Snowdon, Llyn Ogween, Cataract on the Llugwy, Conway Castle
  

Nationality of traveller

Alsatian, French

Language of publication

French and English

Gender of traveller

Male

Type of publication

illustration; travelogue

Citation

Loutherbourg, Philippe-Jacques de, William Pickett, Robert Bowyer, and Thomas Bensley. The Romantic and Picturesque Scenery of England and Wales: From Drawings Made Expressly for this Undertaking by P.J. de Loutherbourg, Esq. R.A. With Historical and Descriptive Accounts of the Several Places of which Views are Given / Scènes romantiques et pittoresques, de l'Angleterre et du pays de Galles. London: Printed for Robert Bowyer, at the Historic Gallery, Pall Mall, by T. Bensley, Bolt Court, Fleet Street, 1805. Print.