- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- Writtle Church
- Date
- 1795 - 1796
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 18.6 × 24.3 cm, 7 ⅜ × 9 ⅝ in
- Inscription
‘Writtle Church near Chelmsford Essex’ lower left, by Thomas Girtin; ‘small stones’ just above, by Thomas Girtin
- Object Type
- Colour Sketch: Studio Work; Work after an Amateur Artist
- Subject Terms
- Essex View; Gothic Architecture: Parish Church
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1453
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 129 as 'Unfinished'; '1795'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001
Provenance
George Wyndham Hog Girtin (1835–1911), by 1863; then by descent to Thomas Girtin (1874–1960); 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
Cambridge, 1920, no.20; New Haven, 1986a, no.34 as ’c.1795’
Bibliography
Sparrow, 1902, p.187; Mayne, 1949, pl.21
Place depicted
Other entries in First Steps as a Professional Artist:
James Moore and British Antiquities
An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
An Interior View of the Ruined East End of Tynemouth Priory Church
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
Private Collection
Craigmillar Castle, near Edinburgh
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Exeter Cathedral, and St Mary Major
The Mellon Bank Collection, Pittsburgh
Stonehenge during a Thunderstorm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Tynemouth Priory Church
Private Collection
Kidwelly Castle
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Ludlow Castle: The Gatehouse
Private Collection
Dumbarton Rock and the Castle, from the North West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Interior of the Albion Mills, Southwark, after the Fire
Private Collection
Kinloss Abbey: The Abbot's House
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Conwy Castle, Looking West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Duff House, from the South
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Round Tower
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
Glasgow Cathedral, from the North East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Part of the Ruins of Alton Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
The Albion Mills, Southwark, after the Fire
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
Bamburgh Castle, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruins of the East End of St Andrews Cathedral
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Touchstones Rochdale
Colchester Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Castle Rock, Edinburgh
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
London: The Demolition of the Old Porch of the Guildhall
London Metropolitan Archives
The Gatehouse, Denbigh Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Kirkstall Abbey, from the South East
Private Collection
Buildwas Abbey
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
The West Front of Brechin Cathedral, with the Round Tower
Private Collection
The Great Gate, St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Conwy Castle: The Bakehouse Tower
Private Collection
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
Tate, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from the North West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Tithe Barn at Abbotsbury, with St Catherine's Chapel on the Hill
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Kirkstall Abbey, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Dunstaffnage Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Spynie Palace, near Elgin
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Dunnottar Castle in a Thunderstorm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Part of the Ruins of Croxden Abbey, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle, with Leicester's Gatehouse in the Distance
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Battle Church, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
The Gatehouse, Denbigh Castle
Private Collection
The Ruins of Lewes Castle, from the West
Private Collection
Ewell Church, with a Funeral Procession Approaching
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Rustic Figures in a Landscape, with Pigs
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
St Peter's Church, Bexhill, from the East
Private Collection
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Cow Grazing near a Pond, with a Church Tower Beyond
Private Collection
Duff House, from the River
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Landscape with a Shepherd and Flock
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
Melrose Abbey, from the South West
Private Collection
A Cottage, Said to Be near Battle in Sussex
Private Collection
Ely Cathedral, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
Private Collection, Scotland
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Pevensey Castle: The North Tower with the Gatehouse in the Distance
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Spire of Salisbury Cathedral, from Chorister's Green
Private Collection
The Landgate, Rye
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Landgate, Rye
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Strand Gate, Winchelsea
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The West Tower, All Saints' Church, Hastings
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Rochester Castle, from the South
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Byland Abbey
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
All Saints' Church, Hastings, from the North East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Kenilworth Castle: The View from the South East
Private Collection
Kenilworth Castle: The View from the South East
Private Collection
Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church
Private Collection
St Peter's Church, Bexhill, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle, Seen from the North
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Saltwood Castle: The Gatehouse
Private Collection
The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
Carlisle Cathedral, from the South West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey
Private Collection
St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Landscape with a Figure Seated on a Gate under a Tree
Private Collection
The West Front of Crowland Abbey
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Crowland Abbey
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Pevensey Castle: View of the North and East Towers
Private Collection
The Ruins of the Great Hall, Kenilworth Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
All Saints' Church, Hastings, from the North West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Refectory, St Martin’s Priory, Dover
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Saltwood Castle: The Gatehouse from a Farmyard
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Spynie Palace: A Coastal View
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
St Clement's Church, with Hastings in the Distance
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Private Collection
The East End of the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Tower, St Clement's Church, Hastings; Studies of a Horse in Harness and Numerous Architectural Details
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Undercliff, near Hastings
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ypres Tower, Rye
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Village with a Half-Timbered House
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hastings: The View across the Beach to Castle Hill
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Hastings Castle and Priory Bridge
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Battle Abbey Gatehouse, from the South West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
St Clement’s Church, Sandwich, from the North
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
St Peter's Church, Bexhill: The West Tower
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Glasgow Cathedral, from the South West
Bolton Museum and Art Gallery
The East End of Icklesham Church
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Refectory, St Martin’s Priory, Dover
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
The Gatehouse of Beckingham Hall, Tolleshunt Major
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Glamis Castle (Macbeth's Castle)
Private Collection, Norfolk
One of the Alard Monuments in the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
One of the Alard Monuments in the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, Loan from George and Patti White
A Thatched Barn with Farm Animals
Private Collection
A Timber-Frame House with a Hill Beyond
Tate, London
A Farmyard with Pigs Drinking at a Pond
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
A Barn with a Figure, Cattle and Poultry
Courtauld Gallery, London
Malmesbury: The Market Cross
Athelstan Museum, Malmesbury
An Unidentified Country Church and Churchyard
Private Collection, Norfolk
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About this Work
This sketch showing All Saints’ Church in Writtle, Essex, from the north east was dated to 1795 by Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak, who thought that it was ‘unfinished’. They did not explain the grounds for either assertion, though the use of the term ‘underpainting’ to describe the selective application of a few washes of colours suggests that they thought it was an incomplete studio work and was not therefore made in the field (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.151). Two alternative scenarios immediately suggest themselves. The first is that Girtin did indeed make his drawing on the spot in Essex, and, because it is very unlikely that the young artist was free to travel to the area early in his career, we should look at a later date for the trip. Girtin exhibited a work titled ‘A mill in Essex’ at the Royal Academy exhibition in 1799 (probably TG1416) and produced a series of picturesque farm scenes in the same county, such as Turver’s Farm, Radwinter (TG1414), on commission from his future father-in-law, Phineas Borrett (1756–1843), at about the same time. All of this strongly suggests that the artist visited the area at this date. If this work was produced and coloured on the spot, then it would have been in around 1798–99, therefore. The alternative is that the work, like so many of Girtin’s architectural views, was actually copied from a sketch by another artist. The antiquarian and amateur artist James Moore (1762–99), who provided Girtin with the model for numerous scenes, visited the county in 1790 and at least four of his Essex sketches were developed by Girtin into watercolours, including images of nearby Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church (TG0317) and the gatehouse of Beckingham Hall (TG0346). The fact that Writtle is well away from the route Girtin must have taken on his visit to the county around 1798–99, added to the very obvious antiquarian interest of the subject, certainly in contrast to the picturesque focus of the later Essex views, suggests that the view was copied from an untraced sketch by Moore sometime around 1795–96.
Moore’s drawings either were pure outlines or had a simple monochrome wash added, so it is clear that Girtin’s colouring was not copied. However, if they were not added on the spot, we are left with the question of what function the washes of colour performed. Certainly, it is possible that Girtin added some colour to test how a finished watercolour might appear, but the more probable explanation is that, as in a number of other cases, most notably another Essex view, Layer Marney Tower (TG1409), the artist returned to the sketch at a later date. We know from inscriptions in the book of drawings now in The Whitworth, Manchester, that Girtin was in the habit of selling sketches coloured on the spot (see the reference to a ‘sketch’ of ‘Rippon Minster Cold. on the Spot’ on TG1618), and there is a strong possibility that some of these were actually studio works misleadingly labelled. I suspect that this is what happened in this case: a studio copy was coloured to give the impression of a drawing made from life. It is impossible to tell precisely when this occurred, but the range of tints used – a pale lilac for the tiles, grey for the tower and the transept, pale cream for the walls, and some pink for the highlights – suggests a few years later, when the artist had moved away from the predominantly blue and green tones of the copies of Moore’s works that he worked up into finished watercolours around 1795 (such as TG0346). Indeed, with only minor variations, the drawing employs the same tints as Layer Marney Tower (TG1409) and I strongly suspect that Girtin worked on the two sketches at the same time.
(?) 1799
A Mill in Essex
TG1416
(?) 1799
Turver’s Farm, Wimbish
TG1414
(?) 1795
Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church
TG0317
1794 - 1795
The Gatehouse of Beckingham Hall, Tolleshunt Major
TG0346
1795 - 1796
Layer Marney Tower
TG1409
(?) 1800
The East End of Bolton Priory Church
TG1618
1794 - 1795
The Gatehouse of Beckingham Hall, Tolleshunt Major
TG0346
1795 - 1796
Layer Marney Tower
TG1409