Observations, Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty, Made in the Year 1772, on Several Parts of England: Volume 1
Particularly the Mountains, and Lakes of Cumberland, and Westmoreland

Published in 1786, this two-volume work formed part of a series exploring the concept of the picturesque in British landscapes.

William Gilpin (Author)

9781108066761, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 November 2013

312 pages, 13 b/w illus. 2 colour illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm, 0.4 kg

Clergyman, schoolmaster and writer on aesthetics, William Gilpin (1724–1804) is best known for his works on the picturesque. In his Essay on Prints, published in 1768 and reissued in this series, he defined picturesque as 'a term expressive of that peculiar kind of beauty, which is agreeable in a picture'. First published in 1786, this two-volume work formed part of a successful series which recorded his reflections on the picturesque across British landscapes. It traces the journey he made in 1772, equipped with notebook and sketching materials, in the Lake District. Describing his route from southern England, noting highlights along the way, Volume 1 includes discussion of Furness, Windermere and Keswick. The volume also features several reproductions of Gilpin's pen-and-wash drawings. Further exploring the concept of the picturesque, his volumes of Observations on other parts of Britain are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Preface
1. Great features of English landscape
2. Country around Hounslow
3. Country between Woodstock and Warwick
4. Country between Coventry and Birmingham
5. New-canal compared with a river
6. Analytical view of a mountain-country
7. General remarks on lakes
8. General remarks on fore-grounds
9. General remarks on the picturesque composition of lakes, and mountains
10. Ambleside, and the grounds around it
11. Voyage from the great island to the northern extremity of the lake
12. Furness-abbey decribed
13. General view of the lake of Keswick
14. Village of Satterthwait
15. Valley of Newlands.

Subject Areas: Art forms [AF]