- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after James Moore (1762-1799)
- Title
-
- Ely Cathedral, from the South East
- Date
- (?) 1794
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 39.1 × 47.8 cm, 15 ⅜ × 18 ⅞ in
- Subject Terms
- Cambridgeshire; Gothic Architecture: Cathedral View
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG0202
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 65
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001, 2002 and 2016
Provenance
James Moore (1762–99); his widow, Mary Moore (née Howett) (d.1835); bequeathed to Anne Miller (1802–90) (lent to Manchester, 1857; London, 1875); bequeathed to Edward Mansel Miller (1829–1912); bequeathed to Helen Louisa Miller (1842–1915); bought by the Museum, 1916, £45
Exhibition History
Royal Academy, London, 1794, no.346 as ’View of Ely Minster’; Manchester, 1857, no.76; London, 1875, no.114; London, 1951, no.514; Manchester, 1975, no.5; Paris, 1979, no.22, exhibition untraced; London, 1984d, no.526; London, 2002, no.1; London, 2007, no.94
Bibliography
Roget, 1891, vol.1, p.88; Bell, 1915–17, p.71, p.74; Stokes, 1922, p.21, p.34; Davies, 1924, p.1, p.12; Binyon, 1933, p.97; Collins Baker, 1933, p.154; Mayne, 1949, pp.30–31, p.49, p.99; Williams, 1952, p.101; Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.54; Bury, 1958, p.22, p.24; Hardie, 1966–68, vol.2, p.3; White, 1977, p.65; Ushenko, 1979, pp.224–26; Brown, 1982, pp.326–27, no.714; Herrmann, 2000, pp.36–37; Celeste, 2020, p.133
Place depicted
Other entries in First Steps as a Professional Artist:
James Moore and British Antiquities
An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
An Interior View of the Ruined East End of Tynemouth Priory Church
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
Private Collection
Craigmillar Castle, near Edinburgh
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Exeter Cathedral, and St Mary Major
The Mellon Bank Collection, Pittsburgh
Stonehenge during a Thunderstorm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Tynemouth Priory Church
Private Collection
Kidwelly Castle
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Ludlow Castle: The Gatehouse
Private Collection
Dumbarton Rock and the Castle, from the North West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Interior of the Albion Mills, Southwark, after the Fire
Private Collection
Kinloss Abbey: The Abbot's House
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Conwy Castle, Looking West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Duff House, from the South
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Round Tower
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
Glasgow Cathedral, from the North East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Part of the Ruins of Alton Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
The Albion Mills, Southwark, after the Fire
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
Bamburgh Castle, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruins of the East End of St Andrews Cathedral
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Touchstones Rochdale
Colchester Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Castle Rock, Edinburgh
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
London: The Demolition of the Old Porch of the Guildhall
London Metropolitan Archives
The Gatehouse, Denbigh Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Kirkstall Abbey, from the South East
Private Collection
Buildwas Abbey
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
The West Front of Brechin Cathedral, with the Round Tower
Private Collection
The Great Gate, St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Conwy Castle: The Bakehouse Tower
Private Collection
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
Tate, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from the North West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Tithe Barn at Abbotsbury, with St Catherine's Chapel on the Hill
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Kirkstall Abbey, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Dunstaffnage Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Spynie Palace, near Elgin
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Dunnottar Castle in a Thunderstorm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Part of the Ruins of Croxden Abbey, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle, with Leicester's Gatehouse in the Distance
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Battle Church, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
The Gatehouse, Denbigh Castle
Private Collection
The Ruins of Lewes Castle, from the West
Private Collection
Ewell Church, with a Funeral Procession Approaching
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Rustic Figures in a Landscape, with Pigs
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
St Peter's Church, Bexhill, from the East
Private Collection
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Cow Grazing near a Pond, with a Church Tower Beyond
Private Collection
Duff House, from the River
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Landscape with a Shepherd and Flock
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
Melrose Abbey, from the South West
Private Collection
A Cottage, Said to Be near Battle in Sussex
Private Collection
Ely Cathedral, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
Private Collection, Scotland
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Pevensey Castle: The North Tower with the Gatehouse in the Distance
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Spire of Salisbury Cathedral, from Chorister's Green
Private Collection
The Landgate, Rye
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Landgate, Rye
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Strand Gate, Winchelsea
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The West Tower, All Saints' Church, Hastings
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Rochester Castle, from the South
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Byland Abbey
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
All Saints' Church, Hastings, from the North East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Kenilworth Castle: The View from the South
Private Collection
Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church
Private Collection
St Peter's Church, Bexhill, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle, Seen from the North
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
Carlisle Cathedral, from the South West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey
Private Collection
St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Landscape with a Figure Seated on a Gate under a Tree
Private Collection
The West Front of Crowland Abbey
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Crowland Abbey
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Pevensey Castle: View of the North and East Towers
Private Collection
The Ruins of the Great Hall, Kenilworth Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
All Saints' Church, Hastings, from the North West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Refectory, St Martin’s Priory, Dover
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Saltwood Castle: The Gatehouse from a Farmyard
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Spynie Palace: A Coastal View
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
St Clement's Church, with Hastings in the Distance
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Private Collection
The East End of the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Tower, St Clement's Church, Hastings; Studies of a Horse in Harness and Numerous Architectural Details
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Undercliff, near Hastings
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ypres Tower, Rye
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Village with a Half-Timbered House
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hastings: The View across the Beach to Castle Hill
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Hastings Castle and Priory Bridge
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Battle Abbey Gatehouse, from the South West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
St Clement’s Church, Sandwich, from the North
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
St Peter's Church, Bexhill: The West Tower
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Glasgow Cathedral, from the South West
Bolton Museum and Art Gallery
The East End of Icklesham Church
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Refectory, St Martin’s Priory, Dover
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
The Gatehouse of Beckingham Hall, Tolleshunt Major
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Glamis Castle (Macbeth's Castle)
Private Collection, Norfolk
One of the Alard Monuments in the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
One of the Alard Monuments in the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Thatched Barn with Farm Animals
Private Collection
A Timber-Frame House with a Hill Beyond
Tate, London
A Farmyard with Pigs Drinking at a Pond
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
A Barn with a Figure, Cattle and Poultry
Courtauld Gallery, London
Malmesbury: The Market Cross
Athelstan Museum, Malmesbury
An Unidentified Country Church and Churchyard
Private Collection, Norfolk
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About this Work
The inclusion at the Royal Academy’s exhibition of 1794 of ‘View of Ely Minster’ marked an important watershed in Girtin’s development as an artist and his progress within his chosen profession (Exhibitions: Royal Academy, London, 1794, no.346). The watercolour was commissioned by Girtin’s first significant patron, the antiquarian and amateur artist James Moore (1762–99). Girtin had hitherto worked on a small scale for Moore, producing numerous watercolour versions of his patron’s amateurish sketches, but here he was able to work on a larger format and with a degree of finish that stood a chance of making an impact in the overcrowded Antique Academy used for the display of watercolours at this date. Girtin had still not been able to travel outside of London by this date, however, and he based his watercolour on a small pencil sketch made by Moore on a trip to East Anglia dated 4 September 1790 (see the source image above). Thus, in contrast to his contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), whose impressive 1794 exhibit St Anselm’s Chapel (see figure 1) was worked up from a sketch he made in Canterbury the year before, Girtin had no alternative but to follow his patron’s drawing with its uncertain perspective. Perhaps not surprisingly, he was unable to forge a convincing relationship between the massive form of the south transept (seen from close to) and the main body of the church beyond. Other aspects were more successful, however, including a fine fluid skyscape, a lively use of light to pick out attractive patterns in the stone and a surprisingly animated figure group, presumably including Moore himself. The figures were good enough to persuade earlier writers to suggest that they must have been added by Girtin’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804) (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.54).
The latter suggestion is implausible as Girtin had clearly ended his apprenticeship to Dayes by this date, but that probably did not stop comparisons with the artist, to whose style Girtin still closely adhered. Dayes’ much larger and more distant view of Ely (see figure 2), which was painted in 1792, during Girtin’s time in his master’s studio, must have made plain the origin of many of his pupil’s characteristics, including the use of a restricted palette of blues, greens and greys as well as stylistic mannerisms such as the distinctive treatment of the foliage and the complex play of broken light on the masonry. But a comparison with Dayes’ major watercolour also demonstrates how far Girtin still had to go in moving away from the primacy of the antiquarian subject to successfully depicting a building within a convincing landscape setting, where a weather effect can create dramatic interest. It is not surprising, therefore, that Girtin’s exhibit did not attract critical attention at the Academy and that when Moore came to commission another set of cathedral views later in the year, he made sure that Girtin was able to sketch the subjects on the spot for the first time (TG1002 and TG1017), taking the young artist with him on his summer tour of the Midlands for that purpose.
The paper historian Peter Bower has noted that the support used by Girtin is a white wove drawing paper, probably produced by James Whatman the Younger (1741–98), whilst the mount is an off-white wove drawing paper, possibly made by Robert Edmeads (unknown dates) and Thomas Pine (unknown dates) at Great Ivy Mill near Maidstone (Smith, 2002b, p.19; Bower, Report).
1794
The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral
TG1002
1794
The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral
TG1017