Throughout the discussion of Blessington's landscapes, I underlined her ambition to be counted among the leisured class, considered capable of appreciating the scenery and eligible to form authoritative judgements on it, owing to their expertise in aesthetics and the visual arts. At times, however, she registers her spontaneous responses to the encountered views, too, thus marking yet another trend in the aesthetic discourse of the early nineteenth century, which also characterizes her representations of architecture and art.

Along with the increased democratization of travel, artistic appreciation of the countries visited became a widespread phenomenon, not limited to the aristocratic class and gradually lacking in authenticity. This, however, as Maureen McCue observes, gave rise to an alternative trend – that is, the emergence of ‘an aristocracy of taste’, formed by those gifted with a ‘refined sensibility and an innate ability to perceive and respond to beauty and genius’ (McCue 2014, 77). Unlike technical scholarly knowledge, the innate capability for genuine and creative appreciation of art could not be acquired from conventional sources like guidebooks, and characterized exceptional individuals such as poets, among whom was Lord Byron (ibid., 78), and others who were inspired by them followed in the same vein. This chapter demonstrates how Blessington maneuvred between manifestations of her technical knowledge, penchant for antiquarianism and archaeology, on the one hand, and her spontaneous responsiveness and emotionalism, on the other, when visualizing architecture.

Approaching architectural forms, Blessington, as she does with landscapes, subconsciously searches for the views ingrained upon her ‘mind's eye’ by seventeenth- century landscape artists. When in Spoleto, she enthuses over a picturesque aqueduct which, ‘seen spanning a rich country’, reminds her of ‘one of those fine pictures of Claude Lorraine or the Poussins, who delighted to represent them’ (IiI 3: 13). Like the painters, in her sketches Blessington demonstrates a special liking for dilapidated and mouldering buildings and monuments falling into ruin, which often constitute the central point of the depicted view. This is mainly because of their picture- like qualities. As Gilpin expressed it, ‘Among all the objects of art, the picturesque eye is perhaps most inquisitive after the elegant relics of ancient architecture; the ruined tower, the Gothic arch, the remains of castles, and abbeys’ (Gilpin 1794, 46).