The Romantic Face of Wales∗

Bibliographic Data

ID8375405
AuthorsJANE ZARING (Iowa State University, corresponding author)
Year1977
Volume67
Issue3
Pages397-418
Publication date1977-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnals of the Association of American Geographers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0004-5608 • E-ISSN: 1467-8306
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-8306.1977.tb01150.x
OpenAlexW2042194788
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited2

The shared perceptions of Wales between the 1770s and the 1830s give a particularly clear illustration of the powerful persuasion of current ideas. Contemporary descriptions of the country by various writers and artists show a striking unanimity in seeing a Wales which fulfilled all the Romantic criteria for beauty, and which was agreed to be the epitome of sublimity and solitude. Evidence of the actual face of Wales at this time can be found in the Agricultural Surveys made between 1790 and 1815, in accounts of early industrial activities, and in contemporary landscape pictures. The comparison between what people wish to see in the landscape, and what in fact appears to be present there, helps us to measure the omissions and exaggerations in the Romantic image of the country, and to understand the phenomenon that what people see at any one time appears to depend only in part on what is there. Notes ∗The author wishes to acknowledge the kindness of the following in giving permission to reproduce photographs and maps: E. H. Brown and G. M. Howe (Fig. 1), Walton Films (Fig. 2), City Museum, Birmingham (Fig. 4), Leeds City Art Gallery (Fig. 6), Aerofilms Ltd., (Fig. 7), The Castle Museum, Nottingham, (Fig. 8), Collins Publishers, (Figs. 8, 12, 15), Tate Gallery, London, (Fig. 9), Macmillan & Co., Ltd., (Fig. 9), H. Tempest, (Cardiff) Ltd., (Fig. 10), Stewart Williams, (Figs. 10, 11, 12, 14, 15), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, (Fig. 13), National Gallery of Wales, Cardiff, (Fig. 16)

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Beauty · Face (sociological concept) · Kindness · Literature · Political science · Romance · Sociology · Welsh · Wish · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Law · Scottish History and National Identity

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