The attribution to Girtin of this Paris view, showing the old town hall (demolished in 1870) and the church of Saint-Jean-en-Grève seen across the river Seine, was questioned by Thomas Girtin (1874–1960), who suggested that it was painted by John Henderson (1764–1843) (Girtin Archive, 14). However, although the quality of the work is not high and the watercolour is a little faded, the attribution is surely secure, particularly now that its original source has been discovered. The fourteenth-century church of Saint-Jean-en-Grève was demolished between 1797 and 1800 (see figure 1) – that is, before Girtin’s visit to Paris – and so it was always assumed that if the watercolour was an autograph work, it must have been painted after an image by another artist. The newly discovered source for Girtin’s watercolour, a print titled Vue de L’Hôtel de Ville de Paris, Prise de l’Hôtel des Ursins, was included in Voyage Pittoresque de la France (vol.3, 1786), and it was presumably acquired by the artist when he was in Paris during the winter of 1801–2 (La Borde and others, 1781–1800). Indeed, it may have been amongst one of the ‘Books of French prints of … Landscapes unbound’ that were left in the artist’s studio at his death (Chancery, Income and Expenses, 1804; Smith, 2017–18, p.35).¹ Other watercolours made after prints from the Voyage Pittoresque include Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny (TG1896 and TG1897), Lyon Cathedral (TG1907), The Porte Chapelle, Compiègne (TG1909), The Church of Saint Corneille at Compiègne (TG1908) and An Interior View of the Nave of Laon Cathedral (TG1911), which make for a distinctive and coherent group of architectural views. Although none of these were executed from on-the-spot sketches, it still cannot be said for sure whether they were worked on the artist’s return to England or were painted in France. Indeed, the fact that they copy earlier prints actually means that we cannot rule out what would, at one time, have been an unthinkable alternative – namely, that many of Girtin’s French views could even predate his trip. 

As with all of the copies of prints from the Voyage Pittoresque, this view adapts – and indeed considerably improves upon – the original composition. Thus, by cropping the scene to left and right and omitting the foreground showing elegant figures strolling along the Left Bank, Girtin brings the town hall and the church much closer to the viewer. The artist has retained the main detail of the boats on the river, but beyond this he has opened up the space in front of the town hall, adding numerous figures to bring the architectural view alive, with the beneficial result that it appears as though it were a natural continuation of his sketching campaign for his own Picturesque Views in Paris, which likewise concentrated on the river Seine and its banks. This was presumably the attraction for the artist, rather than the fact that the print includes an image of the former church of Saint-Jean-en-Grève. Although the church was the subject of a well-known painting by Hubert Robert (1733–1808), I suspect that Girtin was unaware of its fate and he inadvertently commemorated its passing. 

(?) 1802

Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny

TG1896

(?) 1802

Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny

TG1897

(?) 1802

Lyon Cathedral

TG1907

(?) 1802

The Porte Chapelle, Compiègne

TG1909

(?) 1802

The Church of Saint Corneille at Compiègne

TG1908

(?) 1802

An Interior View of the Nave of Laon Cathedral

TG1911