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Works Thomas Girtin

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell

1797 - 1798

Primary Image: TG1054: Thomas Girtin (1775–1802), A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell, 1797–98, watercolour on wove paper, 15.9 × 24.3 cm, 6 ¼ × 9 ½ in. Harewood House (HHTP:2001.2.127).

Photo courtesy of The Earl and Countess of Harewood and Harewood House Trust (All Rights Reserved)

Description
Creator(s)
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
Title
  • A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
Date
1797 - 1798
Medium and Support
Watercolour on wove paper
Dimensions
15.9 × 24.3 cm, 6 ¼ × 9 ½ in
Inscription

‘Girtin’ lower right, by Thomas Girtin (the signature has been cut, suggesting that it once extended onto an original mount which has been lost)

Object Type
Studio Watercolour
Subject Terms
Gothic Architecture: Cathedral View; River Scenery; Yorkshire View

Collection
Versions
A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell (TG1053)
A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell (TG1665)
Catalogue Number
TG1054
Girtin & Loshak Number
155 as 'Ripon Minster'; '1796'
Description Source(s)
Viewed in 2001

Provenance

W. P. Young; his sale, Sotheby’s, 31 March 1925, lot 134; bought by 'Lascelles', £52 10s; Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood (1882–1947); then by descent

Bibliography

Borenius, 1936, no.311

About this Work

This is the larger of two versions of a composition that Girtin appears to have sketched on his tour to the northern counties in 1796 (the other being TG1053), showing Ripon Minster from the river Skell, looking south east. The smaller version may have been coloured on the spot and therefore have provided the basis for this more finished watercolour, but on balance I suspect that that work too was produced in the studio. Although different in size, both were therefore produced to meet the growing market for the artist’s sketches, which, Girtin discovered around 1796, could be satisfied in the studio equally as well as in the field. If my supposition is correct, we may therefore expect there to have been an on-the-spot pencil drawing that was the source for both works. Having said that, it is still not entirely clear that Girtin visited Ripon in 1796 since the only dated views of the town are from 1800 (TG1659 and TG1660) or 1801 (TG1665). It is perfectly possible that these works referred back to earlier on-the-spot sketches, though equally Girtin may have visited Ripon in 1799 or 1800 on return visits to Yorkshire. I am aware, therefore, that the main, if not the only, evidence we have that Girtin visited the city in 1796 is that the two distant views of the minster from the river Skell resemble the outcome of other sketches made on that trip; given that this judgement has had to be made on the basis of two black and white photographs, a rethink may be necessary in the future.

As befits its larger size, this view of the minster is more finished and contains more complex groups of cattle and figures working in the field, suggesting that a greater degree of care was taken in the planning than for TG1053. Nonetheless, the governing aesthetic is still that of the sketch, and, were it not for the existence of the smaller version of the composition, it might have been tempting to describe this work as being coloured on the spot; as it is, whatever the status of the smaller view, it would have been inconceivable for the artist to have produced two such similar on-the-spot sketches. There is another sign that we are dealing with a studio work in this instance, however – namely, the signature to the lower left. It is certainly true that Girtin signed his on-the-spot sketches, presumably at the time of their sale, but in this case the signature has been cut, suggesting that it once strayed onto a mount that has subsequently been removed. In other words, the work was mounted onto a support before its completion, and that is a procedure that for practical reasons was surely carried out in the studio.

1796 - 1797

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell

TG1053

1800

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge

TG1659

1800

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge

TG1660

1800 - 1810

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell

TG1665

1796 - 1797

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell

TG1053

by Greg Smith

Place depicted

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