Barralet and Beranger's Antiquarian Sketching Tour through Wicklow and Wexford in the Autumn of 1780

Abstract

Abstract:This is a partial reconstruction of an antiquarian sketching tour of counties Wicklow and Wexford undertaken in 1780 by the artists John James Barralet and Gabriel Beranger at the behest of William Burton Conyngham who, on behalf of the Hibernian Antiquarian Society, wanted to have their work engraved in a series of volumes intended to highlight Irish antiquities. Its literary base includes excerpts from Beranger's diary already recorded by Sir William Wilde in the 1870s, and a hitherto unrecognised descriptive Catalogue of places visited. Visually, it uses engravings from Grose's Antiquities of Ireland based on artwork from the tour, as well as drawings, copies and plans from the Cooper Collection acquired by the National Library of Ireland in 1994. The collection includes some original Barralet watercolours published here for the first time.