Antique Victorian Oil Painting — Snowdon, Wales — Charles Leslie (Signed & Dated 1878) Title: A Summer Shower Passing Over the Snowdon Range

Details

Description

Antique Victorian Oil Painting — Snowdon, Wales — Charles Leslie (Signed & Dated 1878)
Title: A Summer Shower Passing Over … Read more Antique Victorian Oil Painting — Snowdon, Wales — Charles Leslie (Signed & Dated 1878)
Title: A Summer Shower Passing Over the Snowdon Range

Overview
A striking, large-scale 19th century British Victorian oil painting depicting the Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) mountain range in Wales beneath a clearing summer storm. A refined rainbow stretches across a dramatic sky above still lake waters, with birds in flight and two figures fishing at the shoreline. This is a strong statement work with classic Victorian “sublime landscape” atmosphere and impressive decorative presence.

Details
Artist: Charles Leslie (British, 19th century), often identified as Charles Edward John Leslie (1839–1886)
Medium: Oil on canvas (relined)
Subject: Welsh landscape, Snowdon range, lake, rainbow, figures fishing
Signature: Signed and dated in red lower left: “Charles Leslie 1878”
Inscription/Plaque: Brass title plaque: “A Summer Shower Passing Over The Snowdon Range – Charles Leslie – 1878”
Framing: Ornate gilt frame, period-appropriate and substantial

Composition, Color & Technique
The composition is built with confident depth, guiding the eye from the calm foreground water into the valley and up to the misted Snowdon range. The sky is the focal point, with layered storm clouds opening to light and a naturalistic rainbow crossing the atmosphere. The palette is beautifully balanced: cool silvery greys, slate tones, and misted blues in the distance contrast with warmer earth tones in the foreground—ochres, russets, deep browns, and mossy greens—creating both drama and serenity. Subtle reflections in muted blue-grey water and small staffage figures enhance scale and narrative without overpowering the landscape.

Dimensions (Framed)
Height: 89.5 cm (35.2 in)
Width: 140 cm (55.1 in)
Depth: 6 cm (2.4 in)

Provenance
Private collection. Documented UK auction provenance: Bigwood Auctioneers & Valuers Ltd, Stratford-upon-Avon, Select Interiors & Antiques auction, 29 July 2022, Lot 168. Curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD.

Why It Works for a Chairish Interior
This is an ideal large framed antique landscape for a library, study, entry hall, living room, or office. The combination of atmospheric sky, rainbow motif, and mountain scenery makes it both a decorative anchor and a collector’s piece—strong at a distance, detailed up close, and well suited to traditional, English country house, rustic luxe, and grand transitional interiors.

Keywords
antique oil painting, Victorian oil painting, 19th century painting, British landscape painting, Welsh landscape, Snowdon painting, Yr Wyddfa, rainbow landscape, large framed painting, gilt frame, antique wall art, traditional decor, English country house style, library wall art, grand scale art, vintage fine art, mountain landscape painting, lake landscape oil, signed dated oil painting, Charles Leslie painting See less