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Works Thomas Girtin

Finchale Priory, near Durham

1796 - 1797

Print after: John Hill (1770–1850), after Thomas Girtin (1775–1802), etching and aquatint, 'Finchale Priory, near Durham' for Rudolph Ackermann's Four Views from Nature. From drawings by Mr. Girtin, no.1, 1 May 1800, 27 × 34.8 cm, 10 ⅝ × 13 ¾ in. British Museum, London (1865,0610.1030).

Photo courtesy of The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Description
Creator(s)
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
Title
  • Finchale Priory, near Durham
Date
1796 - 1797
Part of
Object Type
Drawing for a Print
Subject Terms
Durham and Northumberland; Monastic Ruins

Collection
Catalogue Number
TG1072
Description Source(s)
The original known only from the print

About this Work

This view by Girtin of part of the ruins of Finchale Priory, on the river Wear near Durham, is known only from the aquatint that was made from the work in 1800. The Four Views from Nature: From Drawings by Mr. Girtin, published by Rudolph Ackermann (1764–1834), also included views of Etal Castle (TG1115), Barnard Castle (TG1068) and York Minster (TG1051). These were all northern subjects that Girtin sketched on his first independent tour, in 1796, and this was no doubt the case with the missing image of Finchale as well. The three surviving watercolours that Girtin made for Ackermann are roughly similar in size, and, given their stylistic unity, appear to have been made at the same time, probably soon after the artist’s return from his tour. It is likely that the missing drawing of Finchale followed the same pattern. Moreover, as in the extant drawings, it is very unlikely that the term ‘from Nature’ meant that it was sketched on the spot, rather that it was a studio work based on a drawing made on Girtin’s visit to the site, as opposed to being copied from the work of another, as was so often the case with the topographical publications with which he was associated.

1796 - 1797

Etal Castle

TG1115

1796 - 1797

Barnard Castle, from the River Tees

TG1068

1796 - 1797

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

TG1051

by Greg Smith

Place depicted

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