This view of Southwell Minster from the north west is one of four versions of a composition that ultimately derives from a detailed pencil sketch (TG1024) that Girtin executed on his first significant trip outside London, undertaken in the summer of 1794. The tour through the Midland counties was organised by the artist’s earliest patron, the antiquarian and amateur artist James Moore (1762–99), who accompanied Girtin to Lichfield, Lincoln and Peterborough, as well as Southwell, so that his young protégé might sketch at first hand a group of some of the nation’s finest Gothic buildings. The watercolour commissioned by Moore in the aftermath of the tour is known only from a black and white photograph (TG0996), whilst the first owner of the monochrome drawing (TG0995) that shares the same dimensions as the pencil sketch is not known. The largest of the versions of the composition (TG1026) has been attributed to Girtin’s great contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) but although I have not yet been able to see the work it is likely that it too is by Girtin. The close congruence of details displayed by overlaying images of the signed pencil sketch and the watercolour in the Harris Museum, Preston strongly suggests that they are by the same artist, namely Girtin himself.

This conclusion is of some significance for understanding the status of this version, TG1025, as the stylistic evidence suggests that it is not by Girtin but a copy based on TG1026 to which it is also closest in its dimensions and which has the same group of three horses in the graveyard. The work is by no means amateurish in its execution and, without comparing it to the other superior versions, a Girtin attribution might still be plausible, but there are a number of features that stand out as being incompatible with the artist’s work. The most significant of which can be best appreciated by comparing the watercolour with the pencil drawing and the way that in the sketch the architectural details are recorded with a line that is accurate without sacrificing variety whereas the form of the arcading on the central tower is repetitive and mechanical in comparison. The manner in which the tiles on the pepperpot tower and the crossing are represented as repeated chevrons in this drawing contrasts markedly with the monochrome version (TG0995) where the artist has created some striking patterns and where the fall of light has broken up the visual monotony of row on row of tiles. Girtin’s ability to use the fall of light on the uneven surfaces of a Gothic building to articulate architectural details without a reliance on an overt outline is the key difference here. Yes, the play of light in the monochrome drawing (TG0995) creates some attractive almost abstract patterns in the stonework, but they never undermine the structural coherence of the building as seen here in what I take to be a copy by an anonymous artist. The remarkably bland foreground, a featureless sky and the unconvincing extension of the landscape setting to the left all again point to an unknown copyist rather than the work of Girtin himself. And one final uncertainty. Thus whilst it is clear that the version of the composition in Preston (TG1026) is based on Girtin’s drawing and is not by Turner, the attribution of the watercolour to Girtin is not absolutely certain as I have had to work from a poor-quality image whilst the Harris Museum has been closed for a number of years. It is just possible that it too is by an anonymous copyist and hence the question mark against Girtin’s name in the credit line of this work.

(?) 1794

Southwell Minster, from the North West

TG1024

1794 - 1795

TG0996

1794 - 1795

TG0995

(?) 1795

Southwell Minster, from the North West

TG1026

(?) 1795

Southwell Minster, from the North West

TG1026

1794 - 1795

TG0995

1794 - 1795

TG0995

(?) 1795

Southwell Minster, from the North West

TG1026