This unidentified view, possibly in the Lake District, was in all likelihood made at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833), where Girtin and his contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) were employed across three winters, probably between 1794 and 1797. Their task, as they recalled to the diarist Joseph Farington (1747–1821), was to copy ‘the outlines or unfinished drawings of’ principally John Robert Cozens (1752–97), but other artists too, including Girtin’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804). The ‘finished drawings’ they were commissioned to produce were the result of a strict division of labour: ‘Girtin drew in outlines and Turner washed in the effects’. As the young artists reported, ‘They went at 6 and staid till Ten’ with Turner receiving ‘3s. 6d each night’ whilst ‘Girtin did not say what He had’ (Farington, Diary, 12 November 1798).¹ The outcome of their joint labours was substantial, amounting to several hundred drawings of which at least twenty are Lake District scenes after compositions by Dayes, including Boon Crag Cottage, with Coniston Water Beyond (TG0770), which is perhaps the closest to this unidentified view. The probability that we are looking at a view in Cumbria is strengthened by the fact that the drawing appears to be a pair, in terms of both size and stylistic treatment, with another Monro School drawing that may depict the river Leven (TG0993).

Girtin made a number of copies of his master’s views of the Lake District during his apprenticeship, including Lake Windermere and Belle Isle (TG0078). Since he was never actually to travel to one of the country’s most popular picturesque regions, for artists as well as their patrons and customers, he continued to base his Lake District views on the works of others throughout his career. As with the numerous copies that Girtin and Turner created from compositions by Cozens, it was the slight sketches and outlines that Dayes made on his travels that were used as the sources for their more finished watercolours. Monro’s posthumous sale in 1833 contained several hundred of Dayes’ sketches, including seven ‘Views on the lakes, blue and Indian ink’, as well as views of ‘Keswick, Glanton, Patterdale’, and there is no evidence that Monro owned any of the older artist’s studio works (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 2 July 1833, lots 42 and 45). Typically, the precise Dayes source of this view of a dilapidated cottage has not been traced, though this does not mean we should look elsewhere for its model. Few of Dayes’ sketches have survived or been identified, and the fact that no source can be found suggests that it was a thoroughly unprepossessing drawing that required considerable transformational skills from the young artists employed by Monro.

Monro’s posthumous sale contained more than forty Lake District views, all of which were attributed solely to Turner. Unlike Girtin, Turner did visit the region, albeit briefly, in 1797. However, whilst some of the items in the sale may have resulted from this trip, the majority were noted as being in ‘blue and Indian ink’ and therefore employed the palette associated with the Monro School works. The attribution of the Lake District views to Turner alone has been challenged in recent years, following the publication of Andrew Wilton’s pioneering article (Wilton, 1984a, pp.8–23), and Girtin’s contribution to this work was acknowledged when it appeared on the art market in 2021. Identifying the division of labour within Monro School drawings is considerably helped, as here, when the colour washes leave some of the pencil work untouched in order to create highlights, so that Girtin’s distinctive hand is clearly identifiable across the drawing. Indeed, the watercolour is notable for the interplay of the pencil work and the simple palette of blues and greys, which enhances the subject’s picturesque qualities.

1794 - 1797

Boon Crag Cottage, with Coniston Water Beyond

TG0770

1794 - 1797

Two Trees Overlooking a Meandering River

TG0993

1791 - 1792

Lake Windermere and Belle Isle

TG0078