View of Fingal’s Cave

Picquenot’s views of Staffa were made after paintings commissioned from a Dutch artist settled in Paris who never visited the island. This goes against the contemporary belief in the importance of working directly from nature rather than relying on secondary sources, particularly when their primary aim is to facilitate comparison and encourage further investigation. While Picquenot’s plates share the emphasis on regularity, massive scale and apparently artful construction characteristic of the views executed by Banks’ draughtsmen, the inclusion of rolling breakers and exaggerated composition gives them a more romantic feel.