- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after John Robert Cozens (1752-1797)
- Title
-
- The View towards Salerno from the Road to Eboli
- Date
- 1798 - 1799
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 21.1 × 31 cm, 8 ¼ × 12 ¼ in
- Object Type
- Monro School Copy
- Subject Terms
- Hills and Mountains; Italian View: Naples and Environs
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG0735
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001
Provenance
Francis Pierrepont Barnard (1854–1931); given to Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and Sabina Girtin, née Cooper (1878–1959), 1913; given to Tom Girtin (1913–94), c.1938; bought by John Baskett on behalf of Paul Mellon (1907–99), 1970; presented to the Center, 1975
Exhibition History
London, 1922, no.76 as ’Possibly by T. Girtin’; New Haven, 1981, no.52 as ’Monro School’; New Haven, 1986a, no.118 as ’On the Road between Salerno and Eboli’ by Thomas Girtin
Bibliography
Bell and Girtin, 1935, p.64; Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.83, p.205 as by Thomas Girtin, 'c.1800'; YCBA Online as 'On the Road Between Salerno and Eboli' by 'Monro School, attributed to Girtin' (Accessed 09/09/2022)
Place depicted
Other entries in Monro School Copies:
Italian Views after Drawings by John Robert Cozens Made on the Second Italian Trip, 1782–83
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0656-pi.jpg)
The Temple of Venus at Baia
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![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0697-pi.jpg)
Entering the Tyrol: Unidentified Buildings amongst Wooded Hills
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0698-pi.jpg)
An Unidentified Fortress: Entering the Tyrol Region
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0699-pi.jpg)
A View on the River Inn, in the Tyrol
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0700-pi.jpg)
Innsbruck: St Anna's Column on Maria-Theresien Street
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0701-pi.jpg)
A Tree-Lined Valley, near Innsbruck
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0702-pi.jpg)
A Church Tower in the Valley of the Isarco, near Sterzing, in the Tyrol
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0704-pi.jpg)
The Euganean Hills, Seen from the Walls of Padua
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0705-pi.jpg)
Part of Padua, Seen from the Walls
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0705a-pi.jpg)
The Abbey of Santa Giustina at Padua
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0706-pi.jpg)
The View from Mirabello, the Villa of Count Algarotti in the Euganean Hills
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0707-pi.jpg)
A Convent on Monte della Madonna in the Euganean Hills
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0708-pi.jpg)
Fano, on the Adriatic Coast
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0709-pi-1.jpg)
Terracina: The View from the Inn, with the Temple of Jupiter Anxur
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0710-pi.jpg)
Naples: The Villa Belvedere, Seen from Sir William Hamilton's Villa at Posillipo
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0711-pi.jpg)
Naples: The View from Sir William Hamilton's Villa at Portici
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0712-pi.jpg)
Portici: Mounts Somma and Vesuvius, from the Myrtle Plantation at Sir William Hamilton’s Villa
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0713-pi.jpg)
Naples: Solimena’s Villa and Pine Trees
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0714-pi.jpg)
Portici: The Fortress in the Royal Park, Looking towards Mounts Somma and Vesuvius
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0715-pi-1.jpg)
Portici: The Imperial Minister's Villa, near the Harbour of Granatello
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0715a-pi.jpg)
Portici: The View from Sir William Hamilton's Villa, with Vesuvius in the Distance
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0716-pi.jpg)
Portici: The Royal Palace, from the Park
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0717-pi.jpg)
The Coast at Portici, with the Villa d'Elboeuf in the Foreground and the Harbour of Granatello Beyond
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0718-pi.jpg)
The Coast at Salerno, with Arechi Castle Overlooking the Town
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0719-pi.jpg)
The View from Salerno, Looking towards Vietri sul Mare
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0720-pi.jpg)
An Unidentified Villa in a Valley near Vietri sul Mare
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0721-pi.jpg)
Salerno: An Ancient Cypress in the Garden of the Franciscan Convent
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0722-pi.jpg)
The Coast at Vietri sul Mare, from near Salerno
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0723-pi.jpg)
The Torre Crestarella at Vietri sul Mare, with Salerno in the Distance
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0724-pi.jpg)
An Unidentified Convent, near Vietri sul Mare
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0725-pi.jpg)
An Unidentified Convent, near Vietri sul Mare
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0726-pi.jpg)
The Convent of San Francesco at Cava de' Tirreni
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0727-pi.jpg)
Naples: The Fifteenth-Century City Walls, with the Dome of Santa Caterina a Formiello
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0728a-pi-3.jpg)
View from the Road Leading to the Scuola di Virgilio, Showing Nisida, the Islands of Ischia and Procida, and the Promontory of Miseno
Private Collection, Norfolk
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0729-pi.jpg)
The Bay of Porto Paone, a Flooded Crater in the Islet of Nisida
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0730-pi.jpg)
Ancient Ruins on the Coast near the Point of Posillipo
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0731-pi.jpg)
Naples: The View from an Enclosed Road at Posillipo
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0732a-pi.jpg)
Posillipo: The Palazzo di Roccella on the Shore
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0733-pi-1.jpg)
The Amphitheatre at Capua
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0734-pi.jpg)
A Ferry Crossing a River, on the Road between Eboli and Paestum
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0735-pi.jpg)
The View towards Salerno from the Road to Eboli
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0736-pi.jpg)
Naples: Castel Sant'Elmo
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0737-pi.jpg)
The Royal Park at Astroni
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0738-pi.jpg)
Lake Agnano, Seen from Astroni
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0739-pi.jpg)
Naples: An Unidentified Convent, with Vesuvius in the Distance
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0740-pi.jpg)
Naples: A Range of Convents near Capodimonte, Including the Chinese College
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0741-pi.jpg)
The Vanvitelli Aqueduct, near Caserta
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0742-pi.jpg)
The Royal Palace at Caserta, Seen from the Road to the Vanvitelli Aqueduct
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0743-pi.jpg)
The Convent of Santa Lucia, near Caserta
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0744-pi.jpg)
The Convent of Santa Lucia, near Caserta
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0745-pi.jpg)
Ancient Ruins near the River Garigliano, Gaeta in the Distance
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0746-pi-1.jpg)
Florence: The Palazzo Vecchio, Seen from the Cascine Park
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0747-pi.jpg)
Florence: The Convent of Monte Oliveto, from the Banks of the Arno
Horne Museum, Florence
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0748-pi-1.jpg)
Florence: The Convent of Monte Oliveto, from the Banks of the Arno
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0749-pi.jpg)
A Villa on the Banks of the River Arno, Known as the Villa Salviati
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0750-pi.jpg)
A Building amongst Trees, on the River Arno near Florence
Sphinx Fine Art, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0751-pi.jpg)
A View on the River Arno, with a Tower on a Hill
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0752-pi.jpg)
Florence: The Palazzo Vecchio from the Boboli Gardens, with Fiesole in the Distance
Harrow School, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0752a-pi-1.jpg)
Florence: The View from the Boboli Gardens across the Valley of the Arno
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0753-pi-1.jpg)
An Unidentified Villa, between Florence and Bologna
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0754-pi.jpg)
A Wooded Shoreline on Lake Maggiore
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0755-pi.jpg)
Angera: The Borromeo Castle Overlooking Lake Maggiore
Tate, London
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0756-pi.jpg)
The Castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0757-pi.jpg)
Lake Maggiore, from the Shore
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0758-pi.jpg)
Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0759-pi.jpg)
Lake Maggiore, from Isola Bella
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0760-pi.jpg)
A Distant View of the Grande Chartreuse
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0847-pi.jpg)
Buildings on a Promontory on the Coast at Posillipo
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg0992-pi.jpg)
The Marmore Falls, near Terni
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/source-images/tg1358-gs.jpg)
A Narrow Gorge Leading to the Grande Chartreuse
Private Collection
![]( /media/w450/primary/tg1463-pi.jpg)
Florence: The View from the Grand Duke's Garden
Private Collection
Footnotes
- 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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About this Work
This view looking across a plain towards the town of Salerno, south of Naples, is based on a composition by John Robert Cozens (1752–97) (see figure 1). It appears to have been produced during a period when Girtin was employed, together with his contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), at the home of their mutual patron Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833). Here they were paid to make ‘finished drawings’ from the ‘Copies’ of the ‘outlines or unfinished drawings of Cozens’ and other artists and, as the two young artists later recalled, Girtin generally ‘drew in outlines and Turner washed in the effects’ (Farington, Diary, 12 November 1798).1 In all they produced several hundred drawings after the sketches and outlines of Cozens, though this example does not fit into the general pattern of their work for Monro. Certainly, it is based on a sketch by Cozens, but it is noticeably larger than the source, which in itself is unique, and perhaps more significantly it appears to be entirely by Girtin. Whilst the Monro School works saw a strict division of labour, with Girtin producing an outline from the source material and Turner adding washes of colour, here there is no evident pencil work and the washes of colour, with their highly generalised forms, are clearly by Girtin working alone, as Susan Morris has pointed out (Morris, 1986, p.50). The manner in which the simple washes of blue and brown are organised into blocks of colour, with areas of the paper left untouched, is entirely characteristic of Girtin’s work, as is the choice of a rough textured laid paper, which plays a crucial role in the effect of the drawing.
There are a number of other Monro School works copied from outlines by Cozens that appear to be by Girtin alone, most notably the fine view of Vallombrosa Abbey (TG0669), but this watercolour is of a different order. Stylistically, it seems to have been painted later than the 1797–98 cut-off date for the two artists working together at Monro’s house, and it may even have been produced as late as 1800, as Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak suggest in their catalogue (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.205). Monro’s posthumous sale included a number of ‘views in Italy’ that were attributed to just Girtin, including ‘Three, by Girtin, after Cozens’ (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 2 July 1833, lot 35), and it is possible that this work is one of those. However, there is no reason to believe that Monro appreciated Girtin’s later work, which moved decisively away from the emphasis on clearly delineated topographical content. I suspect that this watercolour was made quite independently, with the artist revisiting an older drawing that he made from the Cozens source in order to produce a sketch-like commodity in keeping with his own stylistic development.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given the later date, Girtin treated the source with uncommon freedom, inventing a cliff in the foreground, changing the shape of the mountains behind and ignoring the sea to the left. Cozens’ on-the-spot sketch from 1782, which is inscribed ‘on the road between Salerno & Evoli looking towards Salerno – Novr.7’, is in any case likely to have been known to Girtin in the form of a later tracing, and it may well have been copied again before the production of the watercolour. In its final guise, the work left its prototype far behind, and it is difficult to imagine it being associated with a southern Italian scene had its source not been recognised by Thomas Girtin, an authority on the work of Cozens as well as his great-grandfather.
1797 - 1798
Vallombrosa Abbey
TG0669