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Works (?) Thomas Girtin after (?) Edward Dayes

All Saints' Church, Marlow

1792 - 1793

Primary Image: TG0271: (?) Thomas Girtin (1775–1802), after (?) Edward Dayes (1763–1804), All Saints' Church, Marlow, 1792–93, graphite on wove paper, 13 × 20.3 cm, 5 ⅛ × 8 in. Tate (M05428).

Photo courtesy of Tate (All Rights Reserved)

Description
Creator(s)
(?) Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after (?) Edward Dayes (1763-1804)
Title
  • All Saints' Church, Marlow
Date
1792 - 1793
Medium and Support
Graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
13 × 20.3 cm, 5 ⅛ × 8 in
Inscription

‘Henley on Thames / Bt at Sotheby’s from Girtin Coll, July/14’ on the back

Object Type
Outline Drawing; Work from a Known Source: Contemporary British
Subject Terms
Buckinghamshire View; Gothic Architecture: Parish Church; River Scenery

Collection
Versions
All Saints’ Church, Marlow (TG0249)
Catalogue Number
TG0271
Description Source(s)
Viewed in 2001 and March 2022

Provenance

James Moore (1762–99); his widow, Mary Moore (née Howett) (d.1835); bequeathed to Anne Miller (1802–90); bequeathed to Edward Mansel Miller (1829–1912); bequeathed to Helen Louisa Miller (1842–1915); bought by Thomas Girtin (1874–1960), 1912; his sale, Sotheby's, (?) July 1914, unknown lot; bought by Alexander Joseph Finberg (1866–1939); acquired by the Gallery with his archive, 1939

Bibliography

Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.153; Hartley, 1984, no.58

About this Work

This second version of a drawing that formed the basis for an early watercolour of All Saints’ Church, Marlow (TG0237), next to the river Thames, has had a chequered history since it was acquired from the art historian Alexander Joseph Finberg (1866–1939) as part of his archive. Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak attributed the sketch to Girtin’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804). They argued that Girtin made a copy of it (TG0249) and that the drawing formed the model for the watercolour now at The Whitworth in Manchester (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.153). Craig Hartley, in his catalogue of the works by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) at the Whitworth, subsequently proposed a different solution, suggesting that this drawing is by Girtin and that the pencil drawing now at the Yale Center for British Art (TG0249) is the Dayes prototype (Hartley, 1984, p.58). Neither authority, however, considered the possibility that is sanctioned by a number of examples across Girtin’s career – namely, that the artist made a replica of his own drawing. The potential motive for this copying is unclear, but it may have been related to the fact that one of the pencil outlines was acquired by the antiquarian and amateur artist James Moore (1762–99), who commissioned Girtin to produce numerous watercolour versions of his own, rudimentary sketches beginning around 1792. The copy may then have been produced by Girtin as a way of keeping a record of a composition that might attract commissions in the future.

Great Marlow Church, Buckinghamshire

None of this undermines the argument that Girtin’s pencil drawing was based on the work of another artist, especially as it is highly unlikely that the young artist was able to travel as far out of London as Marlow. An undated watercolour by Dayes (see figure 1) shows a very similar view of All Saints’ Church from across the river and, despite the claims of Moore, Dayes is still the most likely source for both pencil drawings and, ultimately, the watercolour that derived from them (TG0237). Differences between Girtin’s drawing and the Dayes watercolour, such as the greater extent of the buildings to the left and right and the variation in the shipping shown on the river, suggest, however, that Girtin did not copy the watercolour itself but worked from an untraced common source – an on-the-spot pencil sketch by his master.

1792 - 1793

All Saints’ Church, Marlow

TG0237

1792 - 1793

All Saints’ Church, Marlow

TG0249

1792 - 1793

All Saints’ Church, Marlow

TG0249

1792 - 1793

All Saints’ Church, Marlow

TG0237

by Greg Smith

Place depicted

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