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Works Thomas Girtin and Joseph Mallord William Turner after (?) John Robert Cozens

The Arco Felice at Pozzuoli, the Ancient Entrance to Cumae

1794 - 1797

Primary Image: TG0763: Thomas Girtin (1775–1802) and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), after (?) John Robert Cozens (1752–97), The Arco Felice at Pozzuoli, the Ancient Entrance to Cumae, 1794–97, graphite and watercolour on paper, 41.3 × 26 cm, 16 ¼ × 10 ¼ in. Private Collection.

Photo courtesy of Paul Mellon Centre Photographic Archive, PA-F05200-0051 (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Description
Creator(s)
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) after (?) John Robert Cozens (1752-1797)
Title
  • The Arco Felice at Pozzuoli, the Ancient Entrance to Cumae
Date
1794 - 1797
Medium and Support
Graphite and watercolour on paper
Dimensions
41.3 × 26 cm, 16 ¼ × 10 ¼ in
Object Type
Collaborations; Monro School Copy
Subject Terms
Italian View: Naples and Environs

Collection
Catalogue Number
TG0763
Description Source(s)
Auction Catalogue

Provenance

Christie's, 18 March 1986, lot 93 as 'Figures Beneath a Colossal Arch' by Joseph Mallord William Turner, unsold; Christie’s, 9 July 1991, lot 66 as 'Figures Beneath a Colossal Arch' by Joseph Mallord William Turner, £2,420

About this Work

This view of the Arco Felice at Pozzuoli, hitherto known as ‘Figures beneath a Colossal Arch’, displays many of the signs that mark the unique collaboration between Girtin and his contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833). Here they were employed across three winters, probably between 1794 and 1797, to make ‘finished drawings’ from the ‘Copies’ of the ‘outlines or unfinished drawings of Cozens’ and other artists, amateur and professional, either from Monro’s collection or lent for the purpose. As the two young artists later recalled, Girtin generally ‘drew in outlines and Turner washed in the effects’. ‘They went at 6 and staid till Ten’, which may account for the generally monochrome appearance of the works, and, as the diarist Joseph Farington (1747–1821) reported, Turner received ‘3s. 6d each night’, though ‘Girtin did not say what He had’ (Farington, Diary, 12 November 1798).1

The Arco Felice, near Naples

As with many of the Monro School drawings of Italian scenes, it has not been possible to trace the precise source for this view of the remains of the ancient entrance (built in the first century AD) to the city of Cumae. But, as generally seems to have been the case, it is likely to have been a sketch made by John Robert Cozens (1752–97) on one of his visits to Naples, either in 1777 or in 1782–83. The auction of the artist’s work held in July 1794 contained twenty-seven ‘books of sketches’ and many hundreds of drawings made on his travels, and, as Kim Sloan has argued, given that Monro’s posthumous sale included only a few sketches by Cozens, the patron must have borrowed much of the material from which Girtin and Turner worked, though in this case it has either been lost or remains unrecognised (Sloan and Joyner, 1993, pp.81–82). The subject of this watercolour was identified during the preparation of this online catalogue from a watercolour by Cozens’ contemporary in Italy, John ‘Warwick’ Smith (1749–1831) (see figure 1). Smith depicted many of the Neapolitan scenes depicted by Girtin and Turner, but, as here, he often failed to realise the dramatic potential of subjects that worked most effectively when shown from a closer viewpoint.

The majority of the Italian scenes sold at Monro’s posthumous sale were attributed to Turner alone, and this generally remained the case until the publication of Andrew Wilton’s pioneering article in 1984, since when the joint attribution of the Monro School works to Turner and Girtin has increasingly become the norm (Wilton, 1984a, pp.8–23). In this case, however, the attribution to Turner acting singly remained unchallenged when the work was sold at auction in 1991, though, as far as one can tell from a black and white photograph, Girtin’s involvement is certainly worth considering. Just enough of his characteristic pencil work is visible to suggest that the drawing is the result of the same division of labour that the two artists themselves described to Farington in 1798.

by Greg Smith

Place depicted

Footnotes

  1. 1 The full diary entry, giving crucial details of the artists’ work at Monro’s house, is transcribed in the Documents section of the Archive (1798 – Item 2).

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