Pwll Cwn

Pwll Cwn — the Welsh name refers to a cove or pool near the Pembrokeshire coast — was painted in 1882, when Brett was regularly sailing the western coasts of Britain and Wales from his yacht studio. Wales attracted him partly for the variety of its coastal geology, which differed from the chalk and limestone formations of southern England and gave him new material for his systematic coastal survey. By the early 1880s Brett had developed a characteristic compositional approach for his coastal paintings — a low viewpoint near sea level, a broad stretch of water, and precisely rendered rocks and cliffs — that he applied consistently while varying the specific geological and meteorological character of each location. The Yale Center for British Art's holding of this and several other Brett coastal works reflects sustained American scholarly interest in Pre-Raphaelite-influenced landscape.

The low horizon characteristic of Brett's mature coastal style places the viewer at water level, making the sea the dominant element. Welsh coastal geology — darker, more varied igneous rock than the southern English chalk — is rendered with attention to its different colour and texture. Calm water allows reflections that add compositional complexity.