This view of an unidentified village with a distant church tower is one of forty or so outline drawings by Girtin that came from the collection of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833) and that are now part of the Turner Bequest at Tate Britain. Most of the drawings were copied from the compositions of other artists, particularly Girtin’s first significant patron, the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99), and the artist’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804). In turn, the outlines formed the basis of a large number of small coloured cards executed by Girtin for Monro around 1795–96 on a support measuring roughly 3 × 4 ¾ in (7.6 × 12.1 cm), though in this case, if a watercolour was produced, it has not been traced. The source for Girtin’s image has also not been found. It is possible that Girtin sketched the view himself from nature, or perhaps even invented the subject, but the commission from Monro seems to have been directed towards the production of watercolours from amongst some of the humblest of the sketches in his very extensive collection, and Dayes may indeed have been the ultimate source for the composition. Many of the drawings by Dayes that are listed in the various sales from Monro’s collection specify subjects that are impossible to reconcile with the generalised village scene shown here, but it is likely that Girtin would have been able to find such a picturesque subject amongst the more than a hundred untitled ‘Coloured sketches … of buildings’ that Monro accrued (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 2 July 1833, lots 36–40). The lack of specific topographical information means it is unlikely that we will ever be able to identify the location of the village, though it is possible that the same church tower is shown in another pencil drawing in the Turner Bequest (TG0376). The quality of the draughtsmanship varies across the outlines in the Turner Bequest, but few are as summary as this example. It is a reminder that they are purely utilitarian records, containing only the sufficient information to produce a small scale sketch-like watercolour.

The attribution of the pencil outlines in the Turner Bequest was a matter of considerable confusion until the publication of Andrew Wilton’s cogently argued article on the Monro School in 1984 (Wilton, 1984a, pp.9–10). Initially, Alexander Finberg, the first cataloguer of the bequest, ascribed the outlines to Girtin but thought that they were made on the spot (Finberg, 1913). Charles F. Bell, in turn, recognised that the drawings were copies, but suggested that they were made by George Isham Parkyns (c.1749–1824) in relation to his work on Moore’s Monastic Remains and Ancient Castles in England and Wales (1792) (Bell, 1915–17, pp.60–66). Then in 1938 Bell changed his mind and switched the attribution to Dayes, citing a letter from Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) in which he stated his opinion that the drawings he had bought from Monro’s sale had been produced by Girtin’s master (Bell, 1938–39, pp.97–103). Finally, Wilton’s article seems to have settled the argument, and I for one have no doubts about the attribution to Girtin of the set of drawings.

1794 - 1795

A Road by a Pond, with a Church in the Distance

TG0376