Art Collections Online
Sgwd yr Henryd, Vale of Neath
WILLIAMS, Penry (1802 - 1885)
[image: Sgwd yr Henryd, Vale of Neath]
Date: 1819
Media: oil on panel
Size: 31.9 x 23.1 cm
Acquired: 1939; Gift; John Herbert James
Accession Number: NMW A 472
Some landscape oil sketches depict famous sites and buildings, while others focus on unassuming corners of nature. This early landscape depicts the HenrydFalls, near Coelbren, where the River Llech plunges 90 feet over a cliff on its way to the Tawe. It is one of a group of landscapes probably from the Lamb and Flag inn Glyn-Neath. This was a convenient centre from which to explore the Vale and was described by William Weston Young in 1835 as 'a comfortable inn to refresh at...it is very prettily seated, and the views from it very fine'. The artist Penry Williams was originally from Merthyr Tydfil, but eventually settled in Rome. Here his brushstrokes are free, impulsive, and parts of the picture have been left unfinished. This suggests he worked quickly to capture the effect of water foaming over the falls.
This work is currently on display:
Gallery 8
National Museum Cardiff, level 4
Stairs up
Stairs down
Lift
2 comments
Amgueddfa Cymru on 9 March 2011, 16:07 (Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales Staff)
Dear Lucy,
Thank you for your comment, the white detail at the bottom centre of the painting isn't a lamb, but a small white marking, possibly a representation of white water from the falls reflecting in a small pool.
Lucy Williams on 3 March 2011, 12:29
can i see a lamb at the bottom in the centre of the page?
Leave a comment