Forest of Radnor, with the Black Mountains in the distance
Francis Towne
The Forest of Radnor, a plateau in mid-Wales used as a royal hunting ground in the medieval period, looms against clouds. The view may well have been taken from the southwestern edge of the forest. The clarity and precision of the drawing exemplify Towne’s watercolour practice, with a restricted palette of greys, greens and blues. His delineation of form verges on abstraction, with fine detail excised in favour of planes of carefully modulated colour. The long narrow format of the drawing derives from two joined sketchbooks pages, Towne’s favourite drawing support after 1808.
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