Adam F.R.S.A., Robert (1728 – 1792) – Capriccio Landscape with a Castle Ruin.

Adam's landscape drawings of the 1770s and 1780s can be loosely categorised into 'Classical' subjects (of which there are fine examples in the Sir John Soane Museum) and 'Gothic' subjects (of which the best holding is at the National Galleries of Scotland). This drawing contains all the elements of the 'Gothic' type as described by A. A. Tait in his 'The Picturesque Drawings of Robert Adam', 'Master Drawings', 1971, Vol. 9, No.2 ... 'Like the landscapes of Claude, Adam's romantic drawings follow certain immutable laws [...] the castle, the river with waterfall or loch, the bridge, the causeway and path, and the towering mountains [...] the castle standing on a cliff, with water beneath, and a causeway bearing figures leading from the foreground to it [...]'.