The Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, Cumberland
Joseph Wright of Derby, 1786
The Bowder Stone is the local dialect name for Boulder Stone. It is a huge rock which fell from neighbouring towering crags at the entrance to Borrowdale. Wright's subject exemplifies the Picturesque, which in the 18th century was a new kind of Beauty midway between Edmund Burke's Sublime and Beautiful. A certain roughness, irregularity and aesthetic deformity were required for a scene to be deemed Picturesque.
More information
Title of artwork, date
The Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, Cumberland, 1786
Date supported
1992
Medium and material
Watercolour over pencil on paper
Dimensions
39 x 55 cm
Grant
1375
Total cost
5500
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