This view of Lichfield Cathedral, shown from the north west, is one of two watercolours that Girtin made after a detailed pencil sketch (TG1001) 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 Lincoln, Southwell and Peterborough, as well as Lichfield, so that his young protégé might sketch at first hand a group of the nation’s finest Gothic buildings. The earliest of the versions of the composition was painted in 1794 for Moore himself (TG1002), but this work was produced a few years later as part of what appears to be a pair with another Moore subject, The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral (TG1020). The first owner of the two later cathedral views was James Vine (1772–1837), a merchant whose collection also included Girtin’s famous Durham Cathedral and Castle, from the River Wear (TG1074), though it is not known whether, like Moore, his purchases reflected an interest in their antiquarian subject matter – or, indeed, if they were commissioned directly from the artist. However, a number of differences between the two versions of the Lichfield view, like the comparable changes to the Peterborough scene (TG1017 and TG1020), suggest that Vine’s interest was more focused on Girtin’s skills as an artist rather than the subject matter. For instance, Vine’s work is executed on a larger scale, and a line of small holes to the left of the sheet of paper on which it is painted suggests that the watercolour was originally attached to a stretcher, which means that it was produced to be framed for display on the wall, in contrast to Moore’s works, which were generally placed in a mount and stored in a portfolio. The notion that this larger work performed a different function is reinforced by its warmer palette, which, in contrast to the cool blues and greys of the Moore commission, more closely approximates to the red sandstone used in the cathedral’s construction, and this change plays its part in creating more dramatic contrasts of light and shade across the building. And finally, the introduction of a large number of figures milling around the cathedral portals adds a further level of interest to the architectural subject. Of course, at least some of these changes are symptomatic of the stylistic developments that marked Girtin’s work in the intervening years, but more generally they reflect a shift from the artist’s dependence on the antiquarian market – and, unlike in the case of the Moore commission, one is not tempted to frame its production within the context of the heated debates about the ethics of the restoration or ‘improvement’ of the nation’s Gothic heritage that occurred at this date.

(?) 1794

The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral

TG1001

1794

The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral

TG1002

(?) 1796

The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral

TG1020

1799

Durham Cathedral and Castle, from the River Wear

TG1074

1794

The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral

TG1017

(?) 1796

The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral

TG1020