- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after Jean-Baptiste Lallemand (1716-c.1803)
- Title
-
- Lyon Cathedral
- Date
- (?) 1802
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 24.2 × 30.9 cm, 9 ½ × 12 ⅛ in
- Subject Terms
- French View; Gothic Architecture: Cathedral View
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1907
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001, 2002 and 2018
Provenance
Chambers Hall (1786–1855); presented to the Museum, 1855
Bibliography
Binyon, 1898–1907, no.22 as 'View of a Cathedral'; Smith, 2017–18, p.40 as 'Lyon Cathedral'
Place depicted
Other entries in Picturesque Views in Paris and Other French Subjects

The Tuileries Palace and the Pont Royal, Taken from the Quai d’Orsay: Pencil Study for Plate One of Picturesque Views in Paris
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The Tuileries Palace and the Pont Royal, Taken from the Quai d’Orsay: Colour Study for Plate One of Picturesque Views in Paris
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The Louvre and the Pont Royal, Taken from the Pont Neuf: Pencil Study for Plate Two of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Louvre and the Pont Royal, Taken from the Pont Neuf: Colour Study for Plate Two of Picturesque Views in Paris
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

The Ile de la Cité, with the Louvre and the Pont Neuf in the Distance, Taken from the Pont Marie: Pencil Study for Plate Three of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

Paris with the Louvre, Taken from the Pont Marie: Copy of Plate Three of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Ile de la Cité, with the Louvre and the Pont Neuf in the Distance, Taken from the Pont Marie: Colour Study for Plate Three of Picturesque Views in Paris
Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin – Madison

Pont Saint Michel, from the Pont Neuf: Pencil Study for Plate Four of 'Picturesque Views in Paris'
British Museum, London

Pont Saint Michel, from the Pont Neuf: Colour Study for Plate Four of 'Picturesque Views in Paris'
Private Collection

Paris: The Isle de la Cité and the River Seine, Taken from the Pont Neuf
Private Collection

A Panoramic View of Paris from Chaillot, Looking up the Seine with the Dome of Les Invalides: Pencil Study for Plate Five of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

Panoramic View of Paris from Chaillot, Looking up the Seine with the Dome of Les Invalides: Colour Study for Plate Five of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Banks of the Seine, with the Dome of Les Invalides
Private Collection

The Tuileries Palace and the Pont Royal: Pencil Study for Plate Six of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Tuileries Palace and the Pont Royal, Taken from the Pont de la Concorde: Pencil Study for Plate Six of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Tuileries Palace and the Pont Royal, Taken from the Pont de la Concorde: Colour Study for Plate Six of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Pont Neuf, Part of the Louvre, Notre Dame and the College of the Four Nations: Pencil Study for Plate Seven of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Pont Neuf, Part of the Louvre, Notre Dame and the College of the Four Nations: Colour Study for Plate Seven of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Pont Neuf and the Mint: Pencil Study for Plate Eight of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Pont Neuf and the Mint: Colour Study for Plate Eight of Picturesque Views in Paris
National Gallery of Art, Washington

Part of the Pont Neuf, with the Mint: Pencil Study for Plate Eight of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Pont au Change, the Théâtre de la Cité, the Pont Neuf and the Conciergerie Prison, Taken from the Pont Notre Dame: Pencil Study for Plate Nine of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Pont au Change, the Théâtre de la Cité, the Pont Neuf and the Conciergerie Prison, Taken from the Pont Notre Dame: Colour Study for Plate Nine of Picturesque Views in Paris
Aberdeen Art Gallery

The Porte Saint-Denis, Viewed from the Suburbs: Possible Colour Study for Plate Ten of Picturesque Views in Paris
Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris

The Porte Saint-Denis, Viewed from the Suburbs: Possible Colour Study for Plate Ten of Picturesque Views in Paris
Tate, London

The Pont de la Tournelle and Notre Dame, Taken from the Arsenal: Pencil Study for Plate Eleven of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Pont de la Tournelle and Notre Dame, Taken from the Arsenal: Colour Study for Plate Eleven of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Pantheon, from the Arsenal, Looking across the Seine: Pencil Study for Plate Twelve of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Pantheon, from the Arsenal, Looking across the Seine: Colour Study for Plate Twelve of Picturesque Views in Paris
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Pantheon, from the Arsenal, Looking across the Seine: Pencil Study for Plate Twelve of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

Bellevue and the Pont de Sèvres, Taken from near the Pont de Saint-Cloud: Pencil Study for Plate Thirteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

Bellevue and the Pont de Sèvres, Taken from the Terrace near the Pont de Saint-Cloud: Colour Study for Plate Thirteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Palace and Village of Choisy from the Banks of the Seine: Pencil Study for Plate Fourteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Palace and Village of Choisy from the Banks of the Seine: Colour Study for Plate Fourteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Water Works at Marly, Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the Distance: Pencil Study for Plate Fifteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Water Works at Marly, Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the Distance: Colour Study for Plate Fifteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The View from the Palace Terrace at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the Aqueduct of Marly in the Distance: Pencil Study for Plate Sixteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The View from the Palace Terrace at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the Aqueduct of Marly in the Distance: Colour Study for Plate Sixteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

The Village of Chaillot, Taken from the Pont de la Concorde: Pencil Study for Plate Seventeen of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Village of Chaillot, Taken from the Pont de la Concorde: Colour Study for Plate Seventeen of Picturesque Views in Paris
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton

Saint-Cloud and Mont Calvaire, Taken from the Pont de Sèvres: Pencil Study for Plate Eighteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

Saint-Cloud and Mont Calvaire, Taken from the Pont de Sèvres: Colour Study for Plate Eighteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

The Banks of the Marne below the Bridge at Charenton: Pencil Study for Plate Twenty of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Banks of the Marne below the Bridge at Charenton: Colour Study for Plate Twenty of Picturesque Views in Paris
Untraced Public Collection, Israel

The Champ de Mars, Seen from the Trocadéro, with Sèvres in the Distance: Unused Pencil Study for Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Watermill above the Bridge at Charenton, near Paris
British Museum, London

The Watermill above the Bridge at Charenton: Pencil Study for Plate Nineteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
British Museum, London

The Watermill above the Bridge at Charenton: Colour Study for Plate Nineteen of Picturesque Views in Paris
Private Collection

La Rue Saint-Denis, Paris: A Scene for Thomas Dibdin's Pantomime Harlequin's Habeas
Private Collection, Norfolk

Paris: Porte Saint-Denis and the Boulevard Saint-Denis
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Part of the Tuileries Palace with the Louvre (Place du Carrousel)
The Higgins, Bedford

Part of the Tuileries Palace with the Louvre (Place du Carrousel)
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin

Paris: View over the Rooftops towards Montmartre
British Museum, London

Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny
Tate, London

Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

A Sheet of Figure Studies
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

A Sheet of Figure Studies Relating to Picturesque Views in Paris
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

A Sheet of Figure Studies: Women Washing Clothes at a River
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Studies of Women and Men, Including an Advocate Pleading
Private Collection

Paris: The Hôtel de Ville and the Church of Saint-Jean-en-Grève
Private Collection, Norfolk

The Church of Saint Corneille at Compiègne
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The Porte Chapelle, Compiègne
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Paris: The Entrance to the Hôtel du Grand Prieur du Temple
British Museum, London

An Interior View of the Nave of Laon Cathedral
British Museum, London

A Wooded River in an Extensive Landscape
Private Collection

A River Scene with a Castle on a Cliff
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Wooded Landscape with a Hermit
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Buildings by a Road, with Passing Figures
Private Collection
Footnotes
- 1 The financial records of John Girtin covering the income he received from the sale of the contents of his brother's studio, as well as from the Eidometropolis and the twenty aquatints of the Picturesque Views in Paris, together with a detailed account of the expenses from both projects, are transcribed in the Documents section of the Archive (1804 – Item 1).
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About this Work
The attribution to Girtin of this view of the west front of Lyon Cathedral, until recently unidentified, was questioned by Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) (Girtin Archive, 14). However, although the quality is not high, with out-of-scale figures and a less than secure perspective in the building, it can now be attributed to Girtin with some certainty, particularly as the identity of the building, as well as the work’s source, has been discovered. Girtin certainly did not visit the city of Lyon during his stay in France in the winter and early spring of 1801–2; instead, he based his watercolour on a print by François-Denis Née (1732–1818) after Jean-Baptiste Lallemand (1716–1803) that is titled Vue de L’Eglise Archiépiscopale de St Jean a Lyon (Smith, 2017–18, p.35) (see source image above). This was included in Voyage Pittoresque de la France (vol.3, 1786) and Girtin may even have acquired it when he was in France, as several ‘Books of French prints of … Landscapes unbound’ were found in his studio at his death (La Borde and others, 1781–1800; Chancery, Income and Expenses, 1804).1 Other watercolours made after prints from the Voyage Pittoresque include Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny (TG1896 and TG1897), The Church of Saint Corneille at Compiègne (TG1908), The Porte Chapelle, Compiègne (TG1909) and An Interior View of the Nave of Laon Cathedral (TG1911), which constitute a distinctive and coherent group of architectural views. Although none of the works were made from on-the spot sketches, it still cannot be said for sure whether they were produced on the artist’s return to England or whether they were painted in France. Indeed, the fact that they were created from earlier prints actually means that we cannot rule out what would once have been an unthinkable alternative – namely, that this and some of the other French views may even predate the artist’s trip.
As with all of the other copies of the prints from the Voyage Pittoresque, this view adapts – and indeed improves upon – the original composition. Cropping the scene to the left and right brings the cathedral closer to the viewer, and, by including more of the sky, Girtin uncharacteristically changed the proportions of the scene so that it is actually less panoramic in its scope, helping to give the building a greater sense of monumentality. The figures too are reduced in number and are Girtin’s own invention.
Another architectural view, showing the twin towers of Orléans Cathedral seen from the Place du Martroi (see figure 1), has also been attributed to Girtin in the past. This came from the collection of Richard Ford (1796–1858), who owned the presentation set of drawings made from the Paris prints, and consequently the attribution deserves to be considered seriously. However, the watercolour has not been seen for almost a century and is known only from a poor-quality black and white photograph, so it is impossible to offer a definitive opinion on its authorship, other than to say that if it is by Girtin, it too must have been painted after the work of another artist, though extensive research has so far failed to establish who.
(?) 1802
Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny
TG1896
(?) 1802
Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny
TG1897
(?) 1802
The Church of Saint Corneille at Compiègne
TG1908
(?) 1802
The Porte Chapelle, Compiègne
TG1909
(?) 1802
An Interior View of the Nave of Laon Cathedral
TG1911