- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- A Weeping Willow beside a Pond
- Date
- 1801 - 1802
- Medium and Support
- Watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 9.1 × 12.7 cm, 3 ⅝ × 5 in
- Object Type
- Colour Sketch: Studio Work; On-the-spot Colour Sketch
- Subject Terms
- Trees and Woods
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1801
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in June 2018
Provenance
Cornelius Marshall Spink (1904–1990); then by descent to John Spink; Sotheby's, 4 July 2018, lot 181, £9,375
Other entries in Later Sketches:
Taken on the Spot and Worked in the Studio
Mountain Scenery, Said to Be near Beddgelert (page 15, reverse, of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
The Valley of the Glaslyn, near Beddgelert (page 15 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Trees in a Glade Overlooking a Lake
Private Collection
An Extensive Landscape with the Ruins of Mitford Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Plumpton Rocks, near Knaresborough
Private Collection
A Parkland Landscape with Cattle and Sheep
Private Collection
John Raphael Smith: 'Waiting for the Mail Coach' (mounted on page 1 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (page 11 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
The Stables, Plompton Park (page 17 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Harewood House, from the South West (page 18 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Grimbald Bridge, near Knaresborough (page 20 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
The Abbey Mill, near Knaresborough (page 25 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
A Farmhouse in Malhamdale, Known as 'Kirkby Priory, near Malham' (page 26 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Sandsend (page 29 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Grimbald Crag, near Knaresborough (page 30 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
A Crag on the River Nidd (page 31 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End (page 33 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe
British Museum, London
An Interior View of the Choir of Bolton Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe (page 37 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe (page 38 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
The East End of Bolton Priory Church (pages 38–39 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
A Distant View of Middleham Castle, with the River Ure in the Foreground (page 41 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Middleham Village, with the Castle Beyond (page 42 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
A Village at the Bend of a River, Probably in Yorkshire (page 44 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Beached Vessels at Low Tide (page 46 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Five Craft off the Coast on a Calm Sea (page 47 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Shipping off the Coast on a Calm Sea (page 48 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
The Ruins of Old Mulgrave Castle (page 49 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Mulgrave Park and Castle, from near Epsyke Farm
British Museum, London
The River Nidd between Knaresborough and Wetherby
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Kirkstall Abbey, with a Canal Barge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The River Nidd, between Knaresborough and Wetherby
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection
A Clump of Trees by the Waterside
Private Collection
A Torrent by a Clump of Trees
Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, Loan from George and Patti White
A River Valley and a Distant Hill Seen through Trees
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
A Shady Road Leading to Cottages
British Museum, London
A Church in a Village, Possibly at Radwinter
British Museum, London
A Building with a Tall Chimney, next to a Stream
British Museum, London
Landscape with a Farmhouse and Cottage
Private Collection
A Schooner near the Shore
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Coast Scene with Two Beached Vessels
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Shipping Study: Five Craft on a Calm Sea
British Museum, London
Revisions & Feedback
The website will be updated from time to time and, when changes are made, a PDF of the previous version of each page will be archived here for consultation and citation.
Please help us to improve this catalogue
If you have information, a correction or any other suggestions to improve this catalogue, please contact us.
About this Work
This rapidly worked sketch is similar in some respects to a group of rural scenes that appear to have been made late in Girtin’s career and that may have come from a small sketchbook put together by the artist. However, whilst small watercolours such as A Barn with a Willow (TG1786) were almost certainly coloured in the studio, the exact status of this work is not so clear. Thus, although it occupies similar small proportions, includes the same landscape motifs and is worked right across the sheet to include a skyscape, other features point to a sketch coloured on the spot. These include a relatively limited palette and, most significantly, areas where the very liquid washes have blotted and others that were not allowed to dry before Girtin added another layer of colour, with a consequent loss of definition. This is true in particular of the blue used to create some of the trees beyond the willow, which has been applied with a disregard for the careful planning associated with the finished studio work. Having said that, a loss of control over colour washes is no guarantee that a watercolour was created on the spot; signs that a drawing was created in haste can be incorporated into a studio work that purports to be a sketch-like commodity and that, in the absence of any distinguishing topographical features, may actually be an imaginary subject. Some artists conveniently identify a work coloured or sketched from nature, but this was never the case with Girtin, and, given that he seems to have produced sketches for sale throughout his career, in addition to those he coloured on the spot for his own use, it is sometimes necessary to admit that, as here, it is simply not possible to be absolutely sure about the status of a work.
(?) 1802
A Barn with a Willow
TG1786