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Works Thomas Girtin after (?) Edward Dayes

The Gatehouse, Harlech Castle, Seen from the Moat

1795 - 1796

Primary Image: TG0926a: Thomas Girtin (1775–1802), after (?) Edward Dayes (1763–1804), The Gatehouse, Harlech Castle, Seen from the Moat, 1795–96, graphite and watercolour on wove paper, 19 × 27.5 cm, 7 ½ × 10 ⅞ in. Private Collection, Gloucestershire

Photo courtesy of Greg Smith

Description
Creator(s)
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after (?) Edward Dayes (1763-1804)
Title
  • The Gatehouse, Harlech Castle, Seen from the Moat
Date
1795 - 1796
Medium and Support
Graphite and watercolour on wove paper
Dimensions
19 × 27.5 cm, 7 ½ × 10 ⅞ in
Object Type
Colour Sketch: Studio Work; Copy from an Unknown Source; Monro School Copy
Subject Terms
North Wales; Castle Ruins

Collection
Catalogue Number
TG0926a
Description Source(s)
Viewed in July 2024

Provenance

Spink & Son Ltd, London (K3/1685); John Richards of Gawsworth Hall; bought by Derek Lockett (d.1993), 25 April 1984; Reeds & Rains, Manchester, 20 July 1984, lot 95 as by Joseph Mallord Willian Turner; Partridge, 3 July 2024, lot 690 as 'Attributed to Joseph Mallord William Turner'; bought for £800

Bibliography

Wilton, 1984a, p.19 as by Thomas Girtin

About this Work

This view of Harlech Castle, showing the gatehouse from the moat, was long attributed to Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), but Andrew Wilton in his groundbreaking article on the Monro School argued that it is not one of the numerous collaborations that resulted from the patronage of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833) but is by Girtin alone and that it is therefore a characteristic ‘example of Girtin’s summary, “blocked-in” technique’ (Wilton, 1984a, p.19). The work was not illustrated in Wilton’s article and only now with its reappearance at auction has it been possible to confirm the attribution to Girtin (Partridge, 3 July 2024, lot 690). The underlying pencil work, displaying a wide range of textures and inventive touches, is clearly by Girtin whilst the monochrome washes, applied with a broad and fluent brushstroke, do indeed display the ‘summary’ and ‘blocked-in’ technique identified by Wilton as being quite distinct from Turner’s use of smaller touches of colour. The catalogue of Monro’s posthumous sale lists a large number of works by Girtin many of which were copied after other artists, including twenty-three ‘Views in Italy’. These have proved very elusive and so far just The View towards Salerno from the Road to Eboli (TG0735) and Vallombrosa Abbey (TG0669) have been definitively identified and so this view of Harlech is of some significance as an unaccountably rare example of Girtin being responsible for both the pencil work and the monochrome washes in a Monro School copy

The status of the work as a copy is reasonably clearcut for whilst Girtin visited Harlech in the summer of 1798 and executed a large coloured sketch of the castle on the spot (TG1318), the smaller monochrome appears to be a studio work dating from a few years earlier. The subdued palette and the detailed pencil work are certainly uncharacteristic of the artist’s later approach to working on the spot, begging the question of who was Girtin’s model. The obvious answer would be Girtin’s teacher Edward Dayes (1763–1804) whose sketches were very well represented in the sale of Monro’s collection in 1833, including at least seven Welsh views. Even though it has not been possible to trace any of Dayes’ sketches of Harlech, a drawing made on one of his trips to North Wales is still the likeliest source for Girtin. In general I have avoided dating the Monro School drawings, grouping them together as 1794–97, but in this case I think it is possible to be more specific. The close and low viewpoint of the castle seen from the moat results in a monumental composition that recalls that of The Gatehouse, Newark Castle (TG0320). This dates from around 1795 and was no doubt based on a sketch similar to another view of Newark (TG0102) that Girtin made on his visit to the Midlands in the summer of 1794. I suspect that Girtin’s motivation in copying a sketch of the gatehouse at Harlech and adding his own washes of colour stemmed from a desire to explore the means of balancing a similar monumental structure with an extensive landscape just as he does in the Newark view. And although it is not possible to say which came first, I suspect that they were executed at roughly the same time.

1798 - 1799

The View towards Salerno from the Road to Eboli

TG0735

1797 - 1798

Vallombrosa Abbey

TG0669

(?) 1798

Harlech Castle

TG1318

1794 - 1795

The Gatehouse, Newark Castle

TG0320

(?) 1794

Newark Castle: The Gatehouse Seen from the North

TG0102

Place depicted

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