Llyn-y-Cau, Cader Idris
- Artist: Richard Wilson
- Date: ?exhibited 1774
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 511 x 730 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the "Llyn-y-Cau, Cader Idris" by Richard Wilson. Painted in 1774, it's a sweeping oil on canvas that puts you at the rim of a high mountain lake in North Wales. Wilson pushes the precipice upward, giving the viewer an almost vertiginous sense of scale. The composition is carefully balanced, with imagined craggy outcrops framing the water. Tiny human figures dot the scene, reminding us of how small we are compared to the landscape. One of those figures holds a telescope, hinting at the 18th‑century fascination with remote, sublime vistas. The painting feels like a frozen moment of untouched paradise, a perfect place for contemplation. It reflects the period’s growing interest in Welsh history and the new taste for awe‑inspiring nature. The tranquil blue lake mirrors the sky, while the rugged mountains anchor the whole image in a dramatic, almost mythic tone.
See it in person
Llyn-y-Cau, Cader Idris is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
