A view of Launceston Castle with the tower of St Mary's Magdalene in the distance
A view of Launceston Castle with the tower of St Mary's Magdalene in the distance
A view of Launceston Castle with the tower of St Mary's Magdalene in the distanceIndistinctly inscribed, lower centre: Launceston and further inscribed upper right: GreyPencil and grey wash 22.2 by 36.2 cm., 8 ¾ by 14 ¼ in.Launceston Castle was begun soon after the Norman Conquest by William the Conqueror's half-brother. Richard, Earl of Cornwall expanded and developed the castle in the 13th century and it served as the administrative headquarters for the Earl. After his death, it became a prison and served as the base for the Royalist defence of the county. The distinctive tower of St Mary Magdalene was built during the late 14th or early 15th Century. It was probably initially intended as a watch tower and was only joined onto the church during alterations. Samuel Prout was born in Plymouth and moved to London in 1802, at the invitation of the antiquarian and topographer John Britton, to produce drawings of antiquarian subjects and copies after other artists. He had been encouraged in his interest in art by his headmaster, who also encouraged Benjamin Haydon. Ill health, which was to plague him throughout his life, forced him to return to Devon between 1805 and 1808, before he felt able to return to London and continue to further his career. Stylistically this drawing dates from this early period. A related wash sketch `Dartmoor Prison during construction', dated to 1807, is in Plymouth Museum (see Richard Lockett, Samuel Prout, 1985, p.28, ill. fig.I).There is a watercolour of Launceston Castle in the Plymouth Museum executed shortly before he returned to London in 1808, as well as an oil of a distant view of Launceston, in the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro.){kind=link}
Samuel Prout O.W.S. (1783-1852)
A view of Launceston Castle with the tower of St Mary's Magdalene in the distance
Indistinctly inscribed, lower centre: Launceston and further inscribed upper right: Grey
Pencil and grey wash
22.2 by 36.2 cm., 8 ¾ by 14 ¼ in.
Launceston Castle was begun soon after the Norman Conquest by William the Conqueror's half-brother. Richard, Earl of Cornwall expanded and developed the castle in the 13th century and it served as the administrative headquarters for the Earl. After his death, it became a prison and served as the base for the Royalist defence of the county. The distinctive tower of St Mary Magdalene was built during the late 14th or early 15th Century. It was probably initially intended as a watch tower and was only joined onto the church during alterations.
Samuel Prout was born in Plymouth and moved to London in 1802, at the invitation of the antiquarian and topographer John Britton, to produce drawings of antiquarian subjects and copies after other artists. He had been encouraged in his interest in art by his headmaster, who also encouraged Benjamin Haydon. Ill health, which was to plague him throughout his life, forced him to return to Devon between 1805 and 1808, before he felt able to return to London and continue to further his career. Stylistically this drawing dates from this early period. A related wash sketch `Dartmoor Prison during construction', dated to 1807, is in Plymouth Museum (see Richard Lockett, Samuel Prout, 1985, p.28, ill. fig.I).
There is a watercolour of Launceston Castle in the Plymouth Museum executed shortly before he returned to London in 1808, as well as an oil of a distant view of Launceston, in the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro.