Observations on the River Wye, 1782

by William Gilpin

William Gilpin began traveling in search of picturesque scenes in the 1770s. His five books of journeys not only record what he saw, but evaluate every scene with critical rigor. With these books, Gilpin can be thought of as the father of the picturesque. Observations on the River Wye was the first of Gilpin’s books, representing a founding text of the romantic movement. It is illustrated with 17 aquatints that demonstrate the essentials of particular landscapes—essentially, they are lessons in how to look. To read Gilpin and to look at his prints is to enter an entirely 18th-century world, whose influence on the way we look and think today is uncanny. Richard Humphreys, a curator at the Tate Gallery, assesses Gilpin’s impact as well as his continuing legacy.

Genres: Travel

99 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1771

About the author

William Gilpin was an English artist, Anglican cleric, schoolmaster and author. He is best known as one of those who originated the idea of the picturesque.

Gilpin was born in Cumberland, the son of Captain John Bernard Gilpin, a soldier and amateur artist. From an early age he was an enthusiastic sketcher and collector of prints, but while his brother Sawrey Gilpin became a professional painter, William opted for a career in the church, graduating from Queen's College, Oxford in 1748.

In 1768 Gilpin published his popular Essay on Prints where he defined the picturesque as '"that kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture" and began to expound his "principles of picturesque beauty", based largely on his knowledge of landscape painting. During the late 1760s and 1770s Gilpin travelled extensively in the summer holidays and applied these principles to the landscapes he saw, committing his thoughts and spontaneous sketches to notebooks.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

My copy of this book is a fascimile of the original, published in the late 18th century, so it can be a challenging read at times, especially bearing in mind the way 's' was written as 'f' in those days. So "The banks of the Wye confift, almoft entirely either of wood, of of pafturage." I feel sorry for anyone who has to narrate this as an audio book!

I grew up by the Wye and know and love the area well, so I was prepared to cope with the format if I could learn more about what the area was like in 1770. Sadly, I was left not much wiser by the end of the book. Gilpin does not go into much detail unless he is describing a 'picturefque' monument such as Tintern Abbey or Raglan Castle, which obviously have changed little in the past 250 years. The villages and towns and their surrounding countryside have changed greatly, but he is frustratingly vague. He will describe a particular road or stretch of river as 'picturefque', but doesn't go into any detail. "The floping hill is the front-fcreen; the two fide-fcreens are low. The front foon becomes a lofty fide-fcreen on the left..." etc, etc.

I was interested to learn that Tintern Abbey was something of a shanty town during this era: "...the poverty and wrtechednefs of the inhabitants were remarkable. They occupy little huts, raifed among the ruins of the monaftery..." I guess it made sense to take advantage of the shelter provided by the Abbey ruins, but previously, I'd assumed that the Abbey had remained uninhabited after the monks' departure. The other interesting aspect of this book was realising how much the mania for 'picturefquenefs' had taken hold by this time and the limitations it imposed on 'appreciating' the countryside. I love the windswept beauty of Marlborough Down, yet for Gilpin, it was 'one of thofe vaft, dreary scenes...' He approves of the road which passes through Savernake Forest, but complains that the country soon 'degenerates into open corn-lands'! Apparantly, 'pafturage' was picturesque, but corn-fields were not!!! I wondered how many of his opinions were truly his own and how much his perception of beauty was affected by the determination to appreciate the land in the 'fashionable' way.

This book may be of interest to someone studying the 18th century attitude toward landscape, but you are looking for books on the history of the Wye valley, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.

[Sophy H · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Wye Gilpin was looking at must have changed immensely since the late 1700's, as the descriptions of certain aspects of it leave me baffled!!

He appears to me on the whole more critical than complimentary, even describing certain parts of the river as dull!!

He bemoans the "state of the ruins" at Tintern Abbey!

Maybe he was a crotchety old get who couldn't always find the joy in things!

This book left me cold. The River Wye however, remains as fabulous as always!!

[Valeddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly what it says really. It isn't very entertaining, but it dabbles in the sublime and the romantic. I would recommend reading Wordsworth's 'Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey' afterwards.