Landscape with Gothic Ruins 1810 - 1820

Cornelius Varley made this pencil drawing, Landscape with Gothic Ruins, in England sometime in the early nineteenth century. It evokes many of the larger social and cultural trends of that time. For one, it reflects the rise of picturesque aesthetics. Notice how the architecture is crumbling and overgrown, merging with the natural world. The eye is meant to be delighted by the beauty of decay. At the same time, the drawing embodies England’s growing interest in its own history, especially the medieval past. The ruins of Gothic abbeys and castles were increasingly seen as national treasures that connected Britons to their heritage. The drawing can thus be placed within the cultural milieu of its time. To better understand it, we can turn to sources like travel guides and architectural surveys, which reveal how the English understood the relationship between landscape, history, and national identity.