This view of Richmond Castle in Yorkshire, seen from the south bank of the river Swale looking north east, is based on a partially coloured sketch that was almost certainly made in 1796 on Girtin’s first independent sketching tour (TG1063). Girtin’s viewpoint on the banks of the river Swale was calculated to display the dramatic location of Richmond Castle, with the great Norman keep to the left and the east curtain wall leading to the Great Hall to the right. In the foreground, crossing the river in three elegant arches, is the Green Bridge designed by John Carr (1723–1807) of York and only recently completed (1789) at the time of Girtin’s visit. Were it not known that the watercolour was based on a drawing from the 1796 tour, we may have been able to infer as much from its similarity to the view of Durham Cathedral and Castle (TG1075), which employs a similar composition with the same elements of river, bridge and castle on a hill arranged in much the same way. And again, as with the Durham view, Girtin’s contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) seems to have been inspired by the example of Girtin, his collaborator at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833); thus, he adopted almost exactly the same viewpoint when sketching on his visit to Richmond in 1797 (see figure 1). As David Hill has noted, this is one of as many as ten examples of where Turner’s 1797 sketches seem to have stemmed from a knowledge of Girtin’s earlier on-the-spot studies (Hill, 1996, pp.4–5, 40 and 199).

The watercolour has suffered a degree of fading, particularly in the middle ground, where areas of the washes of colour and the pencil work appear quite ponderous and earth tones have become too dominant. There is no doubt about the attribution to Girtin, though, not least because of the prominent and clearly genuine signature on the rock in the river. As for the date of the work, we are helped here by the relatively good condition of the sky, which, in contrast to many later works, such as Morpeth Bridge (TG1708), has not faded to a brick-red colour as a consequence of the use of the fugitive pigment indigo. There is no reason, therefore, not to think that this work was produced soon after the artist’s return from the north in 1796, and it may have been produced on commission, one of the works that helped to cover the costs of Girtin’s trip. Certainly, the fact that the work was reproduced as a mezzotint by Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835) (see the print after, above, Neill & Son, 1883) does not mean that it was produced specifically for engraving, though its smaller size might initially suggest that. Incidentally, this may well be one of those occasions where the print, with its dramatic contrasts of light and shade, gives a good impression of the work’s original, pre-faded condition.

(?) 1796

Richmond Castle and Bridge, from the River Swale

TG1063

1796 - 1797

Durham Cathedral and Castle, from the River Wear

TG1075

1800 - 1801

Morpeth Bridge

TG1708