This panoramic view of Paris from Chaillot, near the present-day Trocadéro and opposite the Eiffel Tower, looking upriver with the dome of Les Invalides to the right, was coloured by Girtin working over a soft-ground etching (see print after TG1868), which in turn reproduced an on-the-spot pencil drawing made in early 1802 (TG1868). Girtin added the washes for the guidance of William Pickett (active 1790–1820), who was employed to aquatint the artist’s plate, fleshing out the lines of the etching with tones that approximate to those of a monochrome sketch (see the print after, above). The completed print was published ten weeks after the artist’s death as plate five of Twenty of the Most Picturesque Views in Paris and Its Environs by his widow, Mary Ann Girtin (1781–1843), and his brother, John Girtin (1773–1821), the latter of whom, in addition to financing the project, took over the final stages of its production. The twenty prints were finally published together in an edition of around 130, with the etchings selling for four guineas, the aquatints for five guineas and a set of proof impressions six guineas (Hardie, 1966–68, vol.2, p.8; Smith, 2017–18, pp.32–35). The large prints were very much a luxury product, so it is somewhat surprising that the list of subscribers includes, in addition to many of the best known of Girtin’s patrons, a significant number of artists, amongst which are the names of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), Sir William Beechey (1753–1839), Benjamin West (1738–1820), John Hoppner (1758–1810) and Henry Edridge (1768–1821) as well as many of Girtin’s fellow watercolourists, such as John Varley (1778–1842) and John Glover (1767–1849) (Chancery, Income and Expenses, 1804).¹

Girtin produced a second set of hand-coloured impressions of his etchings, which were carefully mounted and sold by John Girtin to the dedicatee of the publication, George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex (1757–1839), for £50 (see figure 1). The two sets have been the cause of considerable confusion, but, following the discovery of new evidence about John Girtin’s role in the project, it has been possible to distinguish their very different functions (Smith, 2017–18, pp.32–35). The set sold to the earl is thus complete, and it is carefully rendered and presented so as to resemble Girtin’s finished watercolours. In contrast, the group of eighteen hand-coloured etchings, which were once owned by Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford (1788–1861), are very much working drawings; indeed, in some cases they have been cut down, as in this case, where two-fifths of the composition to the left has been lost. This was presumably done to disguise the careless treatment that it underwent in the studio of Pickett. The utilitarian nature of these drawings can also be identified by the fact that, in addition to providing instructions to the professional aquatinter regarding the distribution of light and shade, they often include Girtin’s amendments, though in this case these have been kept to a minimum. 

1802

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’

TG1868

1802

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’

TG1868