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Works Thomas Girtin after Jean-Baptiste-François Génillion

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

(?) 1802

Primary Image: TG1896: Thomas Girtin (1775–1802), after Jean-Baptiste-François Génillion (1750–1829), Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny, (?) 1802, watercolour on laid paper, 31.4 × 23.2 cm, 12 ⅜ × 9 ⅛ in. Tate (T03340).

Photo courtesy of Tate (All Rights Reserved)

Description
Creator(s)
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after Jean-Baptiste-François Génillion (1750-1829)
Title
  • Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny
Date
(?) 1802
Medium and Support
Watercolour on laid paper
Dimensions
31.4 × 23.2 cm, 12 ⅜ × 9 ⅛ in
Object Type
Studio Watercolour; Work from a Known Source: Contemporary Foreign
Subject Terms
French View: Ancient Ruins; Paris and Environs

Collection
Versions
Paris: The Ruins of the Roman Baths, Hôtel de Cluny (TG1897)
Catalogue Number
TG1896
Girtin & Loshak Number
482ii as 'Julian's Baths, Hotel Cluny, Paris'; '1801–2'
Description Source(s)
Viewed in 2001 and 2002

Provenance

Robert Nesham (1846–1928); his sale, Christie’s, 30 July 1924, lot 80 as 'Ewenny Priory, Glamorganshire' by Joseph Mallord William Turner; bought by 'Agnew', £52 10s; Thos. Agnew & Sons (stock no.562); Reginald Arthur Tatton (1857–1926); Gilbert Davis (1899–1983); Spink & Son Ltd, London; bought by Paul Tod; his sale, Christie's, 25 May 1956, lot 55 (withdrawn from the sale); 'A Lady'; her sale, Christie’s, 4 November 1975, lot 78 as 'Julian’s Baths, Hotel de Cluny, Paris'; bought by Spink & Son Ltd, London, 1,600 gns; Stanhope Shelton; bought from him by the Gallery, 1982

Exhibition History

Agnew’s, 1925, no.47 as ’Les Bains de Julien, Paris’; Spink’s, London, 1976, no.110; London, 2002, no.81

Bibliography

Wilton, 1979, p.47; Tate, 1983, p.27, p.83; Tate, 1984, pp.21–22;  Bower, 2002, p.138

About this Work

This view of the interior of the impressive remains of the third-century Roman baths, which are now incorporated into the Musée de Cluny in Paris, is one of two versions that were probably produced following Girtin’s stay in France in the winter of 1801–2 (the other being TG1897). Unlike the multiple versions of earlier architectural subjects, such the west front of Peterborough Cathedral (TG1017 and TG1018), which were painted at different times and were subject to variations in staffage, this, the second watercolour of the ruined frigidarium (which was then used by a cooper to store barrels) are virtually identical. There was at least one occasion when Girtin produced replicas of watercolours for different patrons (see TG1562 and TG1563), but in this case he seems to have abandoned the other work at the last moment as a result of an accident and then made this second identical version; the large vertical drip of colour in the lower centre of the other work is unsightly enough to have forced the artist to start again. This second version, although identical in respect of its composition and details, nonetheless includes subtle differences in the handling of the washes that are in keeping with Girtin’s style, indicating a creative exploration of different means of achieving the same aim, and there is no question that this is a copy by another artist. 

Girtin’s reworking of his composition has always been assumed to postdate his return from the trip to France in the winter and spring of 1801–2, but that this is not necessarily the case has become apparent following the startling discovery that rather than being the outcome of an on-the-spot sketch executed by Girtin, as one might expect, both works were actually copied from a secondary source, either a watercolour by Jean-Baptiste-François Génillion (1750–1829) (see TG1897 figure 1) or, more probably, a reproductive print by François-Denis Née (1732–1818) (see print after TG1897). Ephemeral details such as the carriage, the cloth hanging from poles above and the disposition of the barrels all replicate the print, confirming that, although the spectacular Roman ruins were no more than a few minutes’ walk away from Girtin’s lodgings in Paris, he must have based his watercolours on this secondary source. This discovery also helps to explain the problem Girtin’s watercolour has with the perspective of the frigidarium, which has the arch to the right coming out at an angle when it is actually on the same plane as the back wall, and it elucidates the curious nature of the wooden wheel form seen above the balcony, which turns out to be a misinterpretation of the print, which shows a smaller lower arch with vertical decorative brickwork above. Née’s etching was included in the Voyage Pittoresque de la France (vol.3, 1786), where it is titled Vue de Restes du Palais des Thermes, and there is a possibility that the artist actually acquired this and other prints of architectural subjects in Paris in 1801–2 (La Borde and others, 1781–1800). John Girtin (1773–1821) records that, amongst the sundry articles he found in the artist’s studio after his death were ‘French prints of Shipping bound and 5 D.o. Landscapes unbound’ (Chancery, Income and Expenses, 1804).1 I suspect that Née’s image was amongst those ‘French prints’, though the fact that it was published in 1786 means that one cannot entirely rule out what, at one time, would have seemed like an unthinkable alternative – namely, that this and some of the other Paris views might predate Girtin’s French trip, especially as neither of the two versions of the composition is dated. Nonetheless, the probability is still that they were painted in London later in 1802, not least because, as the paper historian Peter Bower has noted, both supports used by Girtin were English-made. In this case the unknown manufacturers of the off-white laid writing paper may have been Joseph Portal (active 1747–93) and William Bridges (unknown dates), working at Laverstoke Mill, Hampshire (Smith, 2002b, p.107; Bower, Report). 

(?) 1802

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

TG1897

1794

The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral

TG1017

1794

The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral

TG1018

(?) 1800

The South Front of Chalfont Lodge, Seen from across the Lawn

TG1562

(?) 1800

The South Front of Chalfont Lodge, Seen from across the Lawn

TG1563

(?) 1802

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

TG1897

(?) 1802

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

TG1897

by Greg Smith

Place depicted

Footnotes

  1. 1 The financial records of John Girtin covering the income he received from the sale of the contents of his brother's studio, as well as from the  Eidometropolis and the twenty aquatints of the Picturesque Views in Paris, together with a detailed account of the expenses from both projects, are transcribed in the Documents section of the Archive (1804 – Item 1).

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