- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- Mickleham Church
- Date
- 1795 - 1796
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 18.8 × 24.7 cm, 7 ⅜ × 10 in
- Inscription
'Girtin' lower left, on the back
- Subject Terms
- Surrey View; Gothic Architecture: Parish Church
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
Mickleham Church
(TG0860)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0351
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 124ii as 'Unfinished'; 'c. 1800'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001 and 2018
Provenance
Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833); his posthumous sale, Christie's, 26–28 June and 1–2 July 1833 (day and lot number not known); Archdeacon Charles Parr Burney (1785–1864); then by descent to Rosetta d’Arblay Wood (née Burney) (1814–1910); then by descent to Edith Mary Burke Powell (Lady Powell, née Wood) (1848–1934); Sir Bruce Stirling Ingram (1877–1963); bought by the Museum, 1963
Exhibition History
Colnaghi’s, 1956, no.57; Oxford, 1963, no.34
Bibliography
Brown, 1982, p.333, no.726 as 'c.1800'
Place depicted
Other entries in Monro School Copies:
British Views, Including Works after the Outlines of John Henderson
An Upland Landscape with a Rainbow, Said to Be Lowther Fells
Kendal Town Hall
Windsor Castle and Park with Deer
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Dover Castle, Seen from the Beach
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Upland Scene with a Wooded Valley
Leeds University Art Gallery
Unidentified Medieval Ruins, with Agricultural Buildings
Tate, London
A View near Keswick, Probably Bassenthwaite Lake
Private Collection
Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite Lake, from the Vale of Newlands
Private Collection
Looking South into Borrowdale, from the Shore of Derwentwater
Private Collection
Mountainous Landscape, Possibly in the Lake District
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
Boon Crag Cottage, with Coniston Water Beyond
Private Collection
A View in Cumbria, Probably Looking from Irton Fell towards Ravenglass
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
A View in Cumbria, Looking towards Irton and the Irish Sea, with the Isle of Man in the Distance
Tate, London
The River Leven, Cumbria, Viewed from Penny Bridge
Tate, London
St John's Vale, Cumbria
Private Collection
The Lodore Falls
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Langdale Pikes
Private Collection
An Unidentified Bridge over a Stream, Possibly in North Wales
Private Collection
Derwentwater, with Skiddaw in the Distance
Eton College, Windsor
Beddgelert Bridge, North Wales
Private Collection
Nant Mill, Betws Garmon, North Wales
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
A Mountainous River Landscape with a Bridge
Private Collection
Cynwyd Mill, near Corwen, North Wales
Brandler Galleries, Brentwood
Conwy: The Town Walls from the South East
Tate, London
Raglan Castle: The Great Hall
Private Collection
A Mountainous Landscape with an Unidentified Bridge, Possibly in North Wales
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale
Private Collection
An Estuary, Possibly Dartmouth
Private Collection
Grasmere: Looking North West to Helm Crag
Private Collection
The Head of Lake Windermere
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
The Head of Derwentwater, with the Lodore Falls
Private Collection
Dover Harbour, with Shipping Being Overhauled
Tate, London
A Two-Master in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London
Dover Harbour: A Ship Being Overhauled
Tate, London
A Boat on the Shore, near Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
Tate, London
Dover Harbour: Fishing Vessels, Their Sails Drying
Tate, London
Shipping in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London
Ullswater: Looking South to the Head of the Lake
Private Collection
A General View of Dover Harbour, from the East
Tate, London
Dover Harbour: Small Boats by the Quay
Tate, London
Boats in Dover Harbour
British Museum, London
An Unidentified Waterfall
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Ship under Repair in Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Figures on a Fishing Vessel in Dover Harbour
Private Collection
A Fishing Vessel with Hastings Beyond
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Dover Castle from the Sea
Private Collection
A Beached Vessel in the Inner Harbour at Dover
Private Collection
Dover Harbour, with the Castle on the Hill
British Museum, London
Dover Harbour
Private Collection
Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton
Vessels Anchored in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Warehouses with Shipping in Dover Harbour
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton
Vessels in the Harbour at Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection
Dover Harbour, with the Cliffs Beyond
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
Vessels Moored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection
The Inner Harbour, Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Brighton Museum and Art Gallery
A Ship Drawn Up on a Beach Being Careened
Private Collection
Beached Fishing Vessels, Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Beached Fishing Vessels in the Harbour at Dover
Private Collection
Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection
Dover Harbour, with Fishing Boats at Low Tide
The High Museum of Art, Atlanta
Dover: The Harbour with Vessels
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
A Smack in Dover Harbour, Drying Sails, with the Old Church in the Distance
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Dover Harbour: A Boat under Repair
Private Collection
Fishing Boats at Low Tide, near Dover
Courtauld Gallery, London
Dover: Two Boatmen Standing by the Prow of a Brig
Private Collection
Dover Harbour
Private Collection
A Fisherman's Cottage, Said to Be at Dover
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Hull of a Ship under Repair, with a Barge and Smaller Boats
Tate, London
A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the Medway
Private Collection
A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Private Collection
A Boat-Builder's Shed, Possibly on the River Medway
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
A Boat-Builder’s Shed, Possibly on the River Medway, with a Fishing Boat with Drying Sails
Tate, London
The Coast, near Dover
The Higgins, Bedford
Folkestone Harbour
Julian Huxley-Parlour Fine Art, London
Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
Ulster Museum, Belfast
Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Buildings on a Wooden Quayside
Private Collection
A Coast View with Chalk Cliffs, Probably from near Beachy Head
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Small Boat under Repair by a Jetty
Private Collection
Dover: Snargate Street, Looking West
Private Collection
Dartford High Street
Private Collection
Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Rye, from the River Tillingham
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Dover: Fishing Boats at Low Tide
Private Collection
Two Boatmen Caulking the Bows of a Beached Brig, Probably at Dover
Private Collection
Hastings: A Beached Fishing Boat
Private Collection
A Coastal Scene at Dover
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
Mickleham Church
Tate, London
An Overshot Mill
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Dolbadarn Castle on Llyn Padarn
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
Conwy Castle, from the East
Huddersfield Art Gallery
Harlech Castle, from the South
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
The Gatehouse, Harlech Castle, Seen from the Moat
Private Collection, Gloucestershire
The High Street at Egham
Private Collection
A Packhorse Bridge
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Boats in Dover Harbour
Leeds Art Gallery
A Dismasted Boat in Dover Harbour
Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum
Two Trees Overlooking a Meandering River
Private Collection
A Dilapidated Cottage
Private Collection
Dover: Boats Anchored in the Harbour
Private Collection
A Coastal View near Dover, probably at St Margaret's, Cliffe
Private Collection
Dover: Beached Boats, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection
Dover Harbour: The Stern of a Large Ship, and Smaller Vessels
Tate, London
The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
British Museum, London
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About this Work
This view of the church of St Michael and All Angels in Mickleham in Surrey is one of two watercolours showing the building from the north east (the other being TG0860). The other, which is slightly larger, was bought at the posthumous sale of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833) by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), who produced it in around 1795–96 in collaboration with Girtin, who, as far as one can be certain in such cases, provided the pencil outline for his colleague to add simple washes of blues and greys. In contrast, this watercolour is almost certainly the sole work of Girtin and was catalogued as such by Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak, who dated it to 1800, suggesting that it was ‘unfinished’ (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.151). Initially, I thought something similar, and I associated the work with a group of Surrey subjects that appear to have been sketched on a visit to Monro’s country retreat at nearby Fetcham, including two other churches from the same locality – at Effingham (TG0345) and Capel (TG0857). However, it increasingly looks likely that both of the views of Mickleham church were, like the vast majority of the works produced by Girtin and Turner for Monro, copied from another source (see comparative image TG0860). The aquatint depicting the church at Mickleham certainly differs in a number of respects from the two watercolours, but I suspect that this stems from the fact that the model from which the print was made was worked up by Joseph Charles Barrow (c.1759–1804) from an untraced sketch by the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99), who provided the bases for many of Girtin’s early topographical views. These include at least a dozen of the views that Girtin produced for Monro, amongst which is Kidwelly Church (see TG0264 figure 1), which was also engraved for Picturesque Views of Churches (Barrow, 1791–93). If the source of Mickleham Church were in the work of an amateur, it would help to explain the poor perspective seen in both versions of the composition.
If this is correct, and this work is not the outcome of Girtin’s visit to the Surrey countryside, then we need to adjust the status of the drawing as well as the date proposed by Girtin and Loshak. I suspect the key here is Girtin’s practice of sometimes making replicas of the drawings he copied at Monro’s home, presumably so as to keep a version for his own use whilst the first outline was handed over to Turner to colour. One example of this practice is found in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour (TG0838 and TG0812), whilst Dartford High Street (TG0843 and TG0844) is another. In this case, however, Girtin himself went on to add a series of colour washes, which, as with Dover Castle, Seen from the Beach (TG0263), effectively turn a pencil outline into a colour sketch. Precisely when Girtin added the colour is impossible to say, but I suspect that it was before the 1800 date suggested by Girtin and Loshak, and that we are probably looking at two different dates for this work, say 1795 and 1798, with the latter marking the decision to convert a simple outline into a more saleable commodity.
1794 - 1797
Mickleham Church
TG0860
1797 - 1798
Effingham Church
TG0345
1797 - 1798
Capel Church
TG0857
1794 - 1797
Mickleham Church
TG0860
1795 - 1796
Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
TG0838
1795 - 1796
Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
TG0812
1795 - 1796
Dartford High Street
TG0843
1795 - 1796
Dartford High Street
TG0844
1795 - 1796
Dover Castle, Seen from the Beach
TG0263