 The remaining parts of the castle continued to be used as a manor house into the 14th century . By the 18th century , however , Dolbadarn Castle was ruined and uninhabited . From the 1760s onwards , however , it became a popular topic for painters interested in the then fashionable landscape styles of the Sublime and the Picturesque . Typically the castle was painted in the middle ground , allowing the viewer 's eye to contrast its ruined outline with the lakes and mountains of Snowdonia ; frequently the landscape was misrepresented by the artist , to create a more striking or dramatic effect . J. M. W. Turner 's 1800 work Dolbadarn Castle depicted the back @-@ lit castle looming over the landscape and became particularly famous , but the paintings of the castle by Richard Wilson and Paul Sandby also represent important artistic works of the period . 
