Title
Bullock Castle and Harbour, County Dublin, 1788Date1788
MediumInk and watercolour
Credit LinePurchased, 1984
Object numberNGI.19216
DescriptionBorn in London, Serres was the son of a French marine artist Dominic Serres (1722-1793), whom he succeeded as Marine Painter to George III in 1793. In 1805, father and son published the Liber Nauticum, an instruction manual for marine painters. Serres was in Ireland between 1787 and 1788, producing views of the coast of Dublin and Waterford. Bulloch, protected by a twelfth century castle, was an important harbour south of Dublin, which preceded the development of Dún Laoghaire. The fine draughtsmanship evident in the details of the boat's rigging and the harbour's stonework is similar in style to the work of topographical artists like Thomas Hearne and Francis Wheatley.