- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- (?) Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- An Ornamental Ruin in a Park; A Tree on a Mound
- Date
- 1796 - 1797
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 23.5 × 33.2 cm, 9 ¼ × 13 in
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour
- Subject Terms
- The Landscape Park; Unidentified Topographical View
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1587
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 233 as 'Ornamental Ruin in a Park' by Thomas Girtin; '1797-8'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001 and 2018
Provenance
Alexander T. Hollingsworth (c.1848–1929); his posthumous sale, Christie’s, 19 April 1929, lot 49 as 'A Landscape, with ruins'; bought by 'Leggatt', £68 5s; Frederick John Nettlefold (1867–1949) by 1935; presented to the Museum, 1948
Bibliography
Grundy, 1933–38, vol.2, pp.130–31
Other entries in Edward Lascelles and Harewood, Together with Other Houses of the Gentry
The Summer House in the Garden of Samuel Wood at Southgate
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Alnwick Castle, from Brizlee
Alnwick Castle, Northumberland
Ships in a Harbour, Possibly at Bristol
Harewood House, Yorkshire
An Estuary Scene, Probably in the West Country
Harewood House, Yorkshire
A Mountain View, near Beddgelert
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
Unidentified Ruins with a Panoramic View
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
A Circular Temple, Said to Be in Harewood Park
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Lake Scene with Cattle, Said to Be in Harewood Park
Private Collection
A Close View of Harewood House, from the South East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Harewood House, from the South West
Harewood House, Yorkshire
Harewood House, from the South East
Harewood House, Yorkshire
Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough
Toledo Museum of Art
Plumpton Rocks, near Knaresborough
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
On the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
A Reconstruction of the Elizabethan Wing of Moreton Corbet Castle
Private Collection
A Reconstruction of Moreton Corbet Castle, from the West
Private Collection
A Landscape with an Unidentified House
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery
An Unidentified Small Country House
Dowle Fine Art, London
An Unidentified House in an Open Landscape
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
An Unidentified Small Country House or Lodge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The North Front of Chalfont Lodge, Seen from the Lake
Guy Peppiatt Fine Art Ltd
The South Front of Chalfont Lodge, Seen from across the Lawn
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The South Front of Chalfont Lodge, Seen from across the Lawn
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Chalfont House, from the North East, with Fishermen Netting the Broadwater
Private Collection, Herefordshire
Chalfont House, from the North West
Private Collection, Herefordshire
Melville Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Distant View of Arundel Castle, from the South
Arundel Castle, Sussex
A Lake Surrounded by Trees, Known as 'The Silent Pool'
Private Collection
A Lake Scene with Two Herons, Possibly in Cassiobury Park
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
The Well House, Ashtead Park, Formerly Known as 'The Sawmill, Cassiobury Park'
Watford Museum
Hatfield House, from the South East
British Museum, London
A House and Garden at Winster in Derbyshire
British Museum, London
A House at Winster
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
An Unidentified Georgian House, Said to Be Lobes Hill in Shropshire
Private Collection
A Distant View of a Castle, Said to Be Lowther in Westmorland
Private Collection
An Ornamental Ruin in a Park; A Tree on a Mound
British Museum, London
A Hilly Landscape with Sheep and Cattle
The Canon Gallery, near Oundle
A Distant View of Knaresborough, from the South East
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Jedburgh from the River, with the Abbey Beyond
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
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About this Work
Although Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David included this view of an unidentified ornamental ruin in their catalogue and dated it to 1797–98, I have long doubted its attribution to Girtin on the grounds of quality (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.165). It is possible that the work’s faded condition has dealt harshly with the large areas of foliage in particular, flattening out the forms to create an undifferentiated mass of too-dominant earth tones, but the work has not suffered to the same degree as many, and this cannot account for its poor perspective. Girtin’s depiction of architectural subjects is one of his greatest strengths, and, though his perspective could on occasion go awry, in general he displayed an understanding of both the structural logic of buildings and their decorative details. This is not remotely evident in the bizarre construction shown here, in no known style and depicting what Girtin and Loshak define as ‘bastard architecture’ (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.165). Ironically, the unfinished and presumably abandoned view on the back, showing a tree on a mound with figures, is of a higher quality, but likewise there is nothing in its handling to make a compelling case for Girtin as the author, though the composition does resemble the view of Hawarden Castle (TG1350).
(?) 1798
Hawarden Castle
TG1350