- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
- Date
- 1800
- Medium and Support
- Watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 29.2 × 48.3 cm, 11 ½ × 19 in
- Inscription
‘Girtin 1800’ lower left
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour
- Subject Terms
- Gothic Architecture: Cathedral View; Yorkshire View
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
York Minster, from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
(TG1051)
- Catalogue Number
- TG1656
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 154ii as 'York Minster' and as inscribed ‘Girtin 1800’ (not visible in the photograph)
- Description Source(s)
- Girtin Archive Photograph
Provenance
Sir James Stuart (inscription on the mezzotint, 1824); ... Andrew Coventry (1801–77); then by descent to Lt. Col. David Edward Maitland-Makgill-Crichton (d.1952)
Exhibition History
Agnew’s, 1953a, no.13 as ’York Minster’
Bibliography
Sparrow, 1902, p.89; Hill, 1999, p.46
Place depicted
Other entries in Late Watercolours:
Samuel William Reynolds and Painting for the Art Market

An Imaginary City, with Antique Buildings
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

Ancient Ruins, with an Obelisk
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Ancient Ruins, with a Gothic Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

A Classical Composition, with a Church and Column
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool

The Arch of Janus, Rome
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Temple of Clitumnus
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Rome: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Rome: The Temple of Saturn, with the Arch of Septimius Severus
Private Collection, USA

A Town on an Estuary
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

A Lagoon Capriccio
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

An Unidentified Coastal Landscape with a Windmill
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight

Barnard Castle, from the River Tees
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle upon Tyne
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Exterior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
Lindisfarne Priory, English Heritage

Kelso Abbey: The West Front
The Whitworth, University of Manchester

Jedburgh Abbey, from the Riverbank
The Higgins, Bedford

On the River Medway, with a Boatyard, Beached Vessels and Hulks
Private Collection

Bisham Abbey, on the River Thames
Private Collection

A Classical Composition, with Figures Admiring the Sculptures
The Whitworth, University of Manchester

An Unidentified Ruin next to a Bridge over a Stream, Said to Be Furness Abbey
Touchstones Rochdale

The Gatehouse of Morpeth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough
British Museum, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Hill
British Museum, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Bridge, Morning
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from the Canal, Evening
Private Collection

A Distant View of Kirkstall Abbey
Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead

Wetherby Bridge and Mills, Looking across the Weir
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
British Museum, London

Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
Leeds Art Gallery

Kirk Deighton, near Wetherby
The Whitworth, University of Manchester

York: The New Walk on the Banks of the River Ouse
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
The Whitworth, University of Manchester

York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
Private Collection

York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
Private Collection

A Farmyard with Barns, Ladder and Figures; A Sky Study
Courtauld Gallery, London

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Leeds Art Gallery

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
Private Collection

Ripon Minster, from the South East
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Ripon Minster, from the South West
Private Collection

The Abbey Mill, near Knaresborough
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Mountain Stream in Spate, Possibly the River Wharfe
Private Collection

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church from across the River Wharfe
Eton College, Windsor

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
Leeds Art Gallery

Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection

Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection

The Banks of the River Wharfe, with Bolton Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection

Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

An Upland Landscape, Identified as Storiths Heights, near Bolton Abbey
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Richmond Castle, from the River Swale
Leeds Art Gallery

A Farmhouse in Malhamdale, Known as 'Kirkby Priory, near Malham'
British Museum, London

An Ancient Oak, Said to Be on the River Ure
Private Collection

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection, Norfolk

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End
Tate, London

A Distant View of Guisborough Priory; The Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury
Private Collection, Norfolk

A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle upon Tyne
Private Collection

Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Upland Landscape, Said to Show Etal Castle
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The River Tweed at Kelso, Looking Upstream
Courtauld Gallery, London

Kelso Abbey: The West Front
Private Collection, Northumberland

The Eildon Hills, from the River Tweed at Dryburgh
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

A Distant View of Dryburgh Abbey, with the Eildon Hills Beyond
Private Collection

The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection

Jedburgh Abbey, from Jed Water
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Jedburgh Abbey, from the South East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Village of Jedburgh
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Southampton: The South Gate and Old Gaol
Private Collection

Bristol Harbour, with St Mary Redcliffe in the Distance
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
Art Institute of Chicago

A Rainbow over the River Exe
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

A Rainbow over the River Exe
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino

A Rainbow over the River Exe
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield

Lydford Castle, from the River Lyd
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

St Vincent’s Rocks and the Avon Gorge
The Whitworth, University of Manchester

On the River Taw, North Devon, Looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore
National Gallery of Art, Washington

Conwy Castle, from the River Gyffin
Private Collection, Norfolk

Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
Tate, London

Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea
Private Collection, Norfolk

A Panoramic Landscape, with Figures Trawling a Pond
Private Collection

Landscape with a Distant Ridge, Possibly Hampstead Heath
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Inn Yard, Edgware Road, Paddington
British Museum, London

The Thames from a Window of the Old Toy Inn, Hampton Court
British Museum, London

The Old Cottage, Widmore, near Bromley
British Museum, London

Shipping on the River Medway
Museum of New Zealand, Wellington

A Farmyard with Cattle, Poultry and Labourers Unloading Hay, Possibly Pinckney's Farm, Radwinter
Art Institute of Chicago

Farmhouse and Outbuildings, Possibly in Essex
Aberdeen Art Gallery

An Unidentified Village Street with a Church Tower in the Distance
British Museum, London

A Panoramic Landscape, Possibly Showing Primrose Hill, London
Private Collection

A Mountain Stream with a Watermill and Bridge
Eton College, Windsor

Unidentified Landscape with a Distant Rain Shower
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

Warkworth Church, with the Bridge Beyond
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

An Italianate Landscape with Two Monks
Private Collection
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About this Work
This dramatic view from the south east, showing York Minster rising above its surrounds, includes the Layerthorpe Bridge to the right, with the river Foss in the middle ground. It is the second version of a composition that Girtin must have sketched on his first and, almost certainly, only visit to the city, in 1796 (the other being TG1051). The other, smaller watercolour was produced for reproduction as an aquatint (see print after TG1051), and it is stylistically consistent with the more conventional works that Girtin produced shortly after his trip, which took in the north east and the Scottish Borders. In contrast, this view was created with a very different purpose in mind, as a comparison with two other views of the city that date from around 1800 illustrates (TG1649 and TG1652). Thus, all three watercolours conform more or less to the standard size of works that the artist supplied around 1800–1801 to Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835), who acted on behalf of the artist in his final years in a role somewhere between agent and dealer.Since each was also the subject of a mezzotint by Reynolds (see the first print after, above), there is little doubt that they were executed for sale on the open market and that Girtin returned to his earlier sketches to find subjects that would make for saleable commodities. The work is known only as a black and white photograph, and it has not been seen in public since 1953, but it is still clear that Girtin enhanced the dramatic potential of the scene in comparison with the earlier work, now in the collection of the British Museum. The sun setting to the right, amongst a bold cloud formation, changes the picturesque surrounds into a sharp silhouette that offsets the more ethereal form of the minster, and the figures on the riverbank, with the smoke drifting from a chimney, provide the perfect accompaniment for an evening effect. All of this is admirably rendered in mezzotint, a printmaking technique that is particularly adept at capturing crepuscular effects; therefore, if, as seems to be the case, the watercolour has faded, at least some of the original drama has been preserved.
Unusually for a work that went through Reynolds’ hands and was also executed as a print, no copy of Girtin’s original watercolour exists to cloud the issue of attribution. Reynolds probably sold the work to Sir James Stuart (unknown dates), who is credited as the owner of the watercolour from which a second mezzotint was produced, by Thomas Lupton (1791–1873), which was published as plate seven of The Rivers of England in 1824 (see the second print after, above). The impression illustrated here is of some interest as it is the engraver’s proof that Girtin’s contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) is said to have marked and corrected out of respect for the memory of ‘Poor Tom’, though he also charged ‘two guineas a piece’ to execute the task (Miller, 1854, p.iii).
1796 - 1797
York Minster, from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
TG1051
1796 - 1797
York Minster, from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
TG1051
1800
The Ouse Bridge, York
TG1649
1800 - 1801
York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
TG1652