Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford (1788–1861), acquired a set of eighteen of the etchings that Girtin hand-coloured for the benefit of the four professional engravers who were employed to add aquatint to the plates etched by the artist himself, including The Ile de la Cité, with the Louvre and the Pont Neuf in the Distance (TG1865b) and The Water Works at Marly, Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the Distance (TG1883a). This set of essentially working drawings, complete with corrections and comments to the engravers, was sold from the Bedford collection in 1951 when its provenance was confused with the complete group of hand-coloured prints that were purchased by Girtin’s patron George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex (1757–1839), and that subsequently entered the collection of Richard Ford (1796–1858).

1802

The Ile de la Cité, with the Louvre and the Pont Neuf in the Distance, Taken from the Pont Marie: Colour Study for Plate Three of ‘Picturesque Views in Paris’

TG1865b

1802

The Water Works at Marly, Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the Distance: Colour Study for Plate Fifteen of ‘Picturesque Views in Paris’

TG1883a