Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland about 1798 Thomas Girtin 1775-1802 Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on laid paper © Tate, London 2002. Presented by A.E. Anderson in memory of his brother Frank through the National Art Collections Fund 1928

Room 2 Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland Girtin rejected the familiar view of Bamburgh in favour of a battered fragment of the outer wall. The low and close viewpoint and the vertical composition add drama, and help to exaggerate the height of the rock. This is also enhanced by the seagulls touched in with bodycolour to the left. These features, combined with the dark sky, encourage the viewer to imagine the violent natural forces that have wrecked the walls.