Harlech Castle 1830 - 1840

John Sell Cotman made this view of Harlech Castle using watercolor, a quintessentially English art material. Although it can achieve effects of great subtlety, the medium was sometimes considered a craft, rather than a high art. Cotman’s masterful wash technique gives us the castle's monumental form, yet also its texture: the rough, time-worn surfaces of each stone. He must have built up the image layer by layer, allowing each wash to dry before adding the next. This gives a sense of depth and atmosphere that feels very true to the Welsh landscape. Look closely and you will see that the image is not entirely made of watercolor. Cotman has drawn across the surface with a fine pen to define the sheep, the figures in the foreground, and the architectural details. It is this combination of approaches that makes the image so effective, and also, so characteristic of Cotman. By combining media and techniques in this way, he asks us to consider how labor and skill contribute to the aesthetics of a work of art.