- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) and (?) Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) after (?) James Moore (1762-1799)
- Title
-
- Kenilworth Castle: Seen from the South East
- Date
- 1794 - 1797
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 26.5 × 37 cm, 10 ⅜ × 14 ⁹⁄₁₆ in
- Object Type
- Collaborations; Monro School Copy; Work after an Amateur Artist
- Subject Terms
- The Midlands; Castle Ruins
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
Kenilworth Castle: The View from the South
(TG0250)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0250a
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in December 2024
Provenance
Hubert Lavre Butler (1858-1937); Charles Hubert Archibald Butler (1901–74); Hubert Arthur James Butler (1937–2016); then by descent; Bonhams, 4 December 2024, lot 23 as by Joseph Mallord William Turner, unsold
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 Museums & 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 Beyond
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 Museums & 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 East
Private Collection
Kenilworth Castle: Seen from the South East
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
Saltwood Castle: The Gatehouse
Private Collection
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
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, Loan from George and Patti White
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
Footnotes
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About this Work
Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak argued that the slightly smaller version of this composition (TG0250) was ‘possibly redrawn’ from one of the ‘pencil studies’ produced by Girtin on the tour of the Midland counties that he undertook in the company of his first significant patron, the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99), in the summer of 1794 (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.150). However, there is no proof that the two men visited either Kenilworth or nearby Warwick, and it looks increasingly likely that both these watercolours and another view of the castle (TG0288) were produced after the work of another artist and given the details of the provenance of TG0250 it is likely to have been Moore himself, who is known from dated drawings as having visited the imposing ruins in October 1789. Girtin certainly appears to have used two of Moore’s Kenilworth sketches from that earlier tour as the basis for his own pencil drawings (TG0128 and TG0153) and although this watercolour is slightly larger than TG0250, dispenses with part of the foreground, and truncates the composition to the right to bring the building into greater prominence, an untraced Moore source is again the likeliest basis for the composition.
The drawing was catalogued recently as being by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) at its first public appearance and the auction catalogue (Bonhams, 4 December 2024, lot 23) linked it to the work he produced at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833). The catalogue does not provide an early provenance for the work but there is nonetheless some evidence that it came from Monro’s collection. Three views of Kenilworth by Turner are recorded in Monro’s posthumous sale in 1833 (Christie’s, 26 June 1833, lots 91, 99 and 115) none of which have yet been accounted for. Another view of Kenilworth, this time by Thomas Hearne (1744–1817), was sold a few days later (Christie's, 2 July 1833, lot 100) and were it not for the Moore provenance of the smaller version of this composition one might readily conclude that it was a Hearne drawing from Monro’s collection that provided the source for both works. A similar predominantly monochrome view of Kenilworth by Hearne signed and dated 1787 (see figure 1), was taken from a position only a few metres further to the east, though there are sufficient differences in detail to be reasonably sure that it was not the source for either Monro School drawing. The attention of any artist travelling to Kenilworth along the road to the south would no doubt have been attracted by such an advantageous view of the castle.
The previous attribution of the watercolour to Turner alone follows the traditional pattern by which Monro school drawings are given to the better-known artist despite the fact the two young watercolourists gave the diarist Joseph Farington (1747–1821) a detailed account of their collaborations. Namely, that they had been engaged by Monro across three winters to make ‘finished drawings’ from ‘the outlines or unfinished drawings’ of other artists following a strict division of labour: ‘Girtin drew in outlines and Turner washed in the effects’ (Farington, Diary, 12 November 1798).1 In this case it is actually Girtin’s contribution that is the clearer cut as his inventive pencil work, with its variety of touch and crisp detail particularly in the architecture, shows up prominently through the washes of colour. In contrast, the restricted range of essentially monochrome tones include a number of formulaic passages particularly in the foreground vegetation. This does not strike me as being Turner at his most inventive, though the way that the light falls on the structure’s massive walls creating a sense of depth despite the economy of touch employed is arguably enough to suggest that the drawing is the outcome of the collaborative process outlined by the artists to Farington.
(?) 1795
Kenilworth Castle: The View from the South
TG0250
1794 - 1795
The Ruins of the Great Hall, Kenilworth Castle
TG0288
(?) 1795
Kenilworth Castle: The View from the South
TG0250
1792 - 1793
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle
TG0128
1792 - 1793
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle, with Leicester’s Gatehouse in the Distance
TG0153