Richard Wilson

Dinas Bran from Llangollen
1770-71
71 x 96 3/8 in. (180.3 x 244.8 cm)

Dinas Bran is an ancient fortress atop a steeply conical hill of slate in the valley of the river Dee in Wales, on the estate of the Myddelton family of nearby Chirk Castle. Wilson's view shows the hill higher than it actually is, looming majestically over the small town of Llangollen. The figure of the man swinging an axe in the foreground introduces an heroic note, perhaps a hint of the medieval combats one might romantically imagine taking place at Dinas Bran. The view is one of a pair commissioned by the artist's fellow Welshman Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, whose country house, Wynnstay, was further up the valley (the other view, from the Wynnstay estate, hangs elsewhere in the galleries). Sir Watkin took great pride in his Welshness and probably looked upon Dinas Bran as a symbol of national identity: it predated the English subjugation of Wales in the thirteenth century, and its wild, rugged appearance perfectly suited current ideas of the Celtic spirit.