Chirk Church, aquaduct & castle, Denbighshire

This is an example from a collection of watercolours by John Ingleby (1749-1808) illustrating views in north Wales. Ingleby's achievement is best seen in his little townscapes where his eye for detail often gives us unique records of urban life in the north. His pictures are characteristically evenly coloured in a light transparent watercolour.

He was a topographical artist who specialised in producing small watercolour views which were ideal as illustrations for the antiquarian studies of Thomas Pennant. Pennant employed Ingleby on a commission basis, and he was paid per drawing, a system which had been in place for employing craftsmen over many centuries. This was common practice amongst artists who worked on monuments, wall paintings and official documents and banners. The artist would be given a fee based upon the quantity of his work not the quality or subject. This stands as an interesting contrast to the terms of employment of his contemporary and colleague, Moses Griffith, who was also under the patronage of Pennant but was employed full-time as an artist and given considerable status and freedom.