William Gilpin – ‘On Picturesque Travel’

Unit-5(d) Meenakshi Sharma

1. Introduction

1.1 About the Author

William Gilpin was an Anglican priest, schoolmaster, scholar, and artist. He was born on 4 June
1724 to Captain John Bernard Gilpin in Cumberland, England. Both the sons of Captain Gilpin
were interested in art, sketching, and painting. In fact, William Gilpin’s brother even took up
painting as a profession.

William Gilpin studied at Queen’s College, Oxford, where he published his first critical treatise
A Dialogue upon the Gardens... at Stow in Buckinghamshire anonymously in 1748. This work
serves as a precursor to his ideas on the ‘picturesque’ which he would later give shape to in his
present work Three essays: on picturesque beauty; on picturesque travel; and on sketching
landscape: to which is added a poem, on landscape painting. Gilpin was attracted to the beauty of
the mountains and its scenery. At the same time, he developed ideas about beauty in its purely
aesthetic form without taking into consideration other qualities often ascribed to beauty or
considered a mark of beauty such as morality, utility etc.

He worked as a schoolmaster at Cheam School up until his move to Hampshire in 1777 where he
took up the position of Vicar of Boldre. As a schoolmaster, he did not believe in corporal
punishment for his students involving physical harm and therefore incorporated a system of fines
to reform and educate his students. Even after his move to Hampshire and his subsequent leaving
of his job as a schoolmaster, he continued to tutor. Some of his students include the poetess
Caroline Anne Bowles as well as his own nephew, the painter William Sawrey Gilpin.

1.2 William Gilpin’s Notion of the Picturesque

Gilpin introduced the concept of the picturesque in his Essay on Prints where he defined the

principles of beauty from his own experience in landscape painting. He calls the picturesque as a
“peculiar kind of beauty, which is agreeable in a picture”. In this context, it is important

to understand the distinction between the two aesthetic ideas – that of the picturesque and the

beautiful. Gilpin calls the objects of beauty “those, which please the eye in their natural state”

as opposed to the objects of picturesque “which please from some quality, capable of being
illustrated in painting”. Besides, he opines, each person sees the object of beauty in a

different manner. For instance, an architect will survey the beauty of buildings differently

from another person of a different profession. Thus, a painter who compares the object of

beauty from the perspective of art must see it in a different light than an ordinary person. In

this case, picturesque is that quality of beauty in an object that makes it most suitable to be

represented in a painting. Gilpin’s notion of the picturesque is therefore a phenomenon that can
be created through the perception of the viewer.

1.3 Gilpin’s Picturesque Travel and the Grand Tour of Europe

The Grand Tour of Europe was a popular custom among the European, especially British

nobility and the landed gentry to traverse specific regions of Europe as part of their classical

education. It was a journey undertaken by the wealthy and the moneyed class often along

with guides or chaperones to study classical and Renaissance works and architecture. Even

though the Grand Tour was restricted to certain wealthy classes, by the eighteenth century, it

had become a staple of aristocratic education with several men from the majority of the

regions of Europe, North, and South America joining this mass tourism especially because

the tour gave these young men an opportunity to mingle with the fashionable and polite

society. Further, this was the only means to view certain works of classical art. Thus, such a

tour was considered an important aspect of the training of many budding artists for them to

learn proper techniques related to painting and sculpture.

The idea of travelling only for pleasure started to catch on in the middle of the eighteenth century
with the emergence of the middle class, which comprised the new gentry, tradesmen, and
merchants who had significant mercantile revenue. Gilpin played a key role in directing this
newly emergent leisure class towards tours of the English countryside as opposed to the
traditional antiquarians. By diverting tourists from the traditional sights to the rustic rural
surroundings, these trips to rural Britain challenged the traditional tours.. Further,

there was now a greater appreciation for works of nature which were imperfect, asymmetrical
and irregular rather than well-proportioned works by classical and Renaissance artists.

Through their irregularity, these new sites focused on individuality and an appreciation of the

rustic. Thus, Gilpin countered the aristocratic tastes in the form of this focus on rural,

countryside landscape as well as his own paintings of the same.

2. Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, you will be able to:

  Understand the notion of the ‘picturesque’ as expressed by William Gilpin and the
difference between the picturesque and the beautiful.
  Know what he means by the term ‘picturesque travel’.
  Understand how the mid finds pleasure in the picturesque.
  Grasp and familiarize yourselves with the different sources of pleasure for a
picturesque traveler.

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3. Summary and Analysis

Gilpin begins by introducing the subject of the effects of traveling. He says that while there may
be multiple and many reasons for travel which might as well be of more importance, the one
reason that he will be focusing on is travel for pleasure. Many travelers travel for pleasure to
simply amuse themselves without any other intended reason for travel. They may, of course, not
understand what amusement they derive from this act of traveling and so Gilpin wants to “give a
reason why they are amused”. When talking about ‘picturesque travel’ Gilpin will first look at its
reason (i.e., reason for picturesque travel) and then look at its source of amusement for the
traveler.

3.1 Purpose of Picturesque Travel

The purpose of picturesque travel is to seek beauty. The objective is therefore to look for the
beautiful scenery of nature and examine it from the point of view of a painting. He says that we
seek beauty in the different elements and components of a landscape such as rocks, trees, woods,
rivers etc. These elements provide plenty of variety in themselves, for instance, there are a
variety of different trees available in nature. Gilpin further elaborates that no two rocks or even
trees are exactly the same. Moreover, in addition to this variety within themselves, the elements
when combined together produce even more variety. Further, these elements provide a third kind
of variety when intermingled with the effects that light and shade or other aerial effects (such as
winds, perhaps) have on them.

3.2 What makes a Landscape ‘Picturesque’

Now William Gilpin turns to the distinction between the sublime and the beautiful. By sublimity
he refers to the vastness and grandness of the expanse such as, say, the vastness of the ocean or a
mountain etc. He says that only sublimity isn't enough to make a landscape . A landscape can
only be picturesque if its sublimity is accompanied by beauty. Likewise, he says that the
strangeness of a landscape alone isn’t picturesque unless there is some form of beauty in the
strangeness. To strengthen his point, Gilpin gives the example of a region called the Giant's
Causeway in Ireland which is filled with peculiar pinnacled rocks. He says that this landscape
does not offer any pleasure. Instead, the truly picturesque can be found not in the novelty of
forms or newness of the Causeway but in the familiarity and simplicity of nature as presented in
the Lakes of Killarney with the vast expanse of lakes. While the novelty of the former might be
pleasing to the eye once, the simplicity of the latter forever attracts and offers amusement.

However, Gilpin continues, that apart from the form and composition of the various elements of
the landscape, the picturesque landscape is also created through atmospheric effects (such as
wind, sunlight etc.). There is in fact, according to Gilpin, no greater pleasure in travelling when
the value of picturesque scenery is doubled when the grandeur of a landscape is accompanied by
“some accidental circumstance of the atmosphere” ( like a rainbow)and the two work in
harmony.

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Apart from these inanimate elements, the living forms also aid in providing beauty. However,
Gilpin says that he isn’t concerned here with an anatomical study of the living beings nor is he
looking for exactness in the form instead just their “general shapes, dresses, groups, and
occupations”. In fact, he says, that the human figures only serve as further ornaments of the
scenery. The same applies to animals that may be found in the scenery. Even for the animals,
only their general form is of importance to the picturesque eye. Gilpin continues that even
smaller beings, such as birds, have a pleasing effect. Thus, every life form, whether big or small
can serve as a picturesque object unless they are too small to be noticed.

Finally, Gilpin turns from nature to the subject of art. He says that among all the subjects of art,
the picturesque eye finds “the elegant relics of ancient architecture; the ruined tower, the Gothic
arch, the remains of castles, and abbeys” the most pleasing. Gilpin says that, “these are the
richest legacies of art” as these relics have existed for a long time and therefore offer permanence
much similar to that of nature itself. Thus, the objects of picturesque have the quality of
universality. The picturesque beauty can be found in every shape, be it in nature or in art, in
various forms, colours, and sizes.
3.3 How the Mind finds Pleasure in the Picturesque

Gilpin starts out by assuming that the natural world's items have a greater function than just
being amusing. He logically continues by saying that thinking about the genesis of beauty should
be the first step in the quest for its source: "- first good, first perfect, and first fair" beauty.
Although this presumption is correct conceptually, according to Gilpin, it would be like asking
too much of someone who appreciates scenic beauty. Since God is the one who generates this
effect of nature, it is improbable that every fan comes to this logical conclusion or believes that
nature is merely an effect. However, such thought is too much to expect from an admirer.
Instead, if the mind of the admirer of nature can turn this admiration towards a higher purpose
such as the picturesque beauty filling the admirer with religious awe or the tranquility of nature
can provide self-satisfaction, even that is achievement enough especially because there’s nothing
more required out of an admirer of nature than simple pleasure. Thus, even sentiments such as
these serve a better purpose. Further, Gilpin says, that even this simple enjoyment is more than
enough in an age corrupted in the morals.

3.4 The Different Sources of Amusement for a Picturesque Traveler

The first source of amusement for a picturesque traveler is the suspense of what scenery is in
store for him in the unexplored landscape. This pleasure comes from the love of discovering new
and pleasing landscapes. As every change in view for the eye promises something new, the
admirer is forever in pursuit of this novelty. Gilpin then compares the experience of new
landscapes for a picturesque traveler to the thrill of the chase. Finally, the chase of beautiful
landscapes ends with the satisfaction of attainment. The mind then examines the beautiful

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landscapes, sometimes as a whole, combining the colours, shades, lights in a single

comprehensive view.

Such views are often an extraordinary source of delight. However, more often than not, such
opportunities to examine the whole are rare and instead, the admirer examines the parts of
scenes, which albeit extremely beautiful, might not be capable of producing a whole
comprehensive view. We may examine these objects of picturesque beauty to analyze the various
rules of art, or to understand how even minute details etch out the difference between beauty and
deformity. At other times, we may compare the objects we see to other such similar objects of
beauty, or we may even compare them to works of art which attempt to imitate them. All these
provide the mind with a source of amusement.

However, this scientific examination of beauty is not really our chief source of amusement.
Instead, upon seeing a scene of great picturesque beauty, our mind is arrested by its beauty even
before the thought of the rules of art strike the mind. This “pause of intellect”, where for a brief
moment, our mental operation is suspended, and our mind is overwhelmed by pure feeling is the
source of the greatest pleasure. While such a “high delight” is mostly produced by scenes of
nature, but it is also possible even through artificial objects.
3.5 Second Source of Amusement: Expansion of One’s Own Ideas

After this process of amusement, our next amusement comes from an analysis of our own set of
ideas as through the experience; our own ideas are expanded and enlarged. As nature has so
much variety, it continues to add to our experience and keeps expanding our reserve of ideas. On
the other hand, when the same kind of object occurs frequently, it helps in making the admirer
more learned. For example, Gilpin says, that if someone sees one oak tree, they have only the
idea of that oak tree. However, for someone who has seen and examined a variety of oak trees,
they would have a full and complete idea of the oak tree.

3.6 Third Source of Amusement: Representing the Picturesque Beauty on a Sketch

Another source of amusement is that of representing what has been seen and observed in these
landscapes of picturesque beauty onto a sketch, even a less elaborate one with only a few strokes,
even if the sketch is legible only to the admirer who sketches this landscape. So long as this
sketch helps the mind in remembering the beauty of the landscape that it represents or help recall
the memory of “the splendid colouring, and force of light, which existed in the real scene”, it
serves as a source of amusement. In fact, there may even be more pleasure in the act of
recreating, recollecting, and recording the scenes of admiration than in the actual viewing of
them. The pleasure derived from such kind of endeavors such as sketching the original scene of
beauty is in fact calmer because it is more uniform and uninterrupted. This is so also because this
kind of pleasure flatters the admirer with the act of creation of something of his own in response
to nature. Secondly, it is devoid of the fatigue that overcomes the body while traversing the
wilderness of nature in search of picturesque landscapes. This pleasure is further enhanced if
after we have amused ourselves with our sketches, we help amuse others too.

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3.7 Fourth Source of Amusement: Recreating the Picturesque Scene

Another amusement that arises from admiring and gaining the complete idea of the object of the
picturesque is the “power of creating, and representing scenes of fancy”. The imagination
recreates the best scenes of nature and functions as a camera that captures the most beautiful
aspects of nature. This is also true for writing as much as it is true for art. Even in writing, as in
art, the representation of reality brings the most amusement as opposed to the representation of
the unnatural. Even if the admirer is not able to produce even a humble sketch of nature, he may
just as well be the judge of any such work of art, especially, if he is strongly inclined towards the
beauty of nature.

To an extent, we are also amused by the mere imagination of nature itself too. For instance,
Gilpin gives an example of when half-asleep we construct beautiful objects of nature through our
imagination, or even after experiencing a similar scene. Our imagination collects all the ideas in
our mind to produce a harmony of all the colours, lights, depths, and shadows. Gilpin also refutes
the idea that such kind of a fancy could also offer scenes of disgust instead of scenes of beauty
by saying that there is very little in nature that isn’t full of beauty. He then gives the example of
the military road from Newcastle to Carlisle which is a waste stretching out for forty miles.
Gilpin says that even here the picturesque eye would find beauty in the greenery and the
vegetation, the beautiful lights in the hills, the sheep and the cattle etc. If even then, these scenes
provide no source of pleasure, the picturesque travelers can use their imagination to build great
scenes of beauty by supplanting the landscapes with hills, rivers, lakes, villages or even castles,
abbeys, or valleys etc. in their own mind.

Gilpin then explains that while a picturesque traveler always finds beauty in nature, he may not
find such beauty and may therefore dislike a work of art. In fact, as the taste of the admirer of
nature is refined through the experience of picturesque beauty, the more he dislikes their
representation in art. This is so because he is so enraptured by the original that its copy must be
just as pure.

Finally, Gilpin concludes by saying that no matter how much a picturesque traveler, an admirer
of nature may study nature; it would forever offer newer varieties. Thus regardless of how
refined the taste of such a picturesque traveler may be, the scenes of nature, and the objects of
picturesque would always surpass it to produce newer sources of both pleasure and amusement.

4. Summing Up

In this essay, Gilpin develops the concept of the picturesque in a comprehensive and detailed
manner by focusing on picturesque travel. He first begins with expounding his theory of the
picturesque as that object of beauty which can be illustrated in a painting. Gilpin speaks of a
specific purpose of travel which is travel for pleasure. Further, he explains the qualities of a
picturesque landscape, namely, the form and composition of the various elements of nature. He
then enumerates the different ways in which picturesque travel accords amusement to the
observer-traveler. Firstly, it is through the suspense of the awaiting scenery that the traveler finds
amusement; secondly, the traveler is amused by the host of new ideas and images that are added
to his mind during his travels. Thirdly, the traveler finds amusement in recreating these scenes in
a sketch and finally, recapturing these scenes during leisure forms another source of amusement.