New Tower Cardiff Castle

Axel Herman Haig (1835 - 1921)

Cardiff Castle

1870

The Victorian architect William Burgess rebuilt Cardiff castle in a Gothic Revival style between 1869 and 1881. This watercolour of the New Tower shows his concept for the earliest part of the scheme to be undertaken. The tower caused an architectural sensation at the time, with its extraordinary use of gilding and polychrome decoration, particularly on the over life-sized stone statues of the Planets which dominate the upper storey. The tower is seen from the castle green and is a unique record of Burges's unexecuted plan for landscaping. The painting itself is attributed to Axel Haig, an architectural artist, whose dramatic and extensively reproduced works earned him the title of the 'Piranesi of the Gothic revival'. The restoration of the Clock Tower exterior during 2004-5 saw the reinstatement of Burges's original decorative scheme.

• Artists Include:
• William Burges

• Medium: watercolour
• Dimensions: 71 x 50cm
• Art Fund Grant: £5000 ( Total: £32,500)
• ArtFunded in: 2006
• Vendor: Mr and Mrs David Mallock

Provenance

By descent to Mr and Mrs David Mallock.

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