- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- Part of the Ruins of the Savoy Palace, Westminster Bridge Beyond
- Date
- 1795 - 1796
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 21.5 × 31.5 cm, 8 ½ × 12 ½ in
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour
- Subject Terms
- London and Environs; Urban Ruins
Provenance
Robert Nesham (1846–1928); his sale, Christie's, 30 July 1924, lot 81 as by Joseph Mallord William Turner; bought by 'Palser', £52 10s; J. Palser & Sons; Michael Thomas Harvey Sadler (1888-1957); his widow, Edith Sadler; her sale, Christie’s, 3 July 1962, lot 108, as 'A View of the Ruins of the Savoy Palace' by Joseph Mallord William Turner; bought by Spink & Son Ltd, London, £420; Derek Lockett (d.1993); then by descent
Bibliography
Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.152
Place depicted
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About this Work
This watercolour was attributed to Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) at two sales during the last century. Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak also noted that this version of a composition that Girtin developed in two watercolours worked up on a similar scale (TG0226 and TG0366) was by Turner (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.152). Even though the work has until now been documented only by a poor-quality black and white image, the attribution to Turner appeared to me to be questionable, and its recent rediscovery has confirmed my opinion that Girtin is its author, making it a second colour version of a composition which was first worked as a monochrome pen and ink sketch (TG0226) for Girtin’s first significant patron, James Moore (1762–99). Unusually for Girtin, all three drawings feature the same set of figures shown taking a break from their labours reclaiming building materials from the rubble of the ancient building with only the dog that dominates the foreground of TG0366 offering a variation.
The distant view of Westminster Bridge and the south bank of the Thames to the west allows us to identify the part of the ruins of the Savoy shown here. The three vertical elements shown left of centre formed part of the tower identified as ‘Sutler’s House’ on the plan that accompanies George Vertue’s (1684–1756) A View of the Savoy from the River Thames (see TG0240 figure 2). The collapse of the roof and the windows of the tower in the intervening period left three gaunt monoliths that contrast with the modern marvel of engineering, Westminster Bridge, to create a powerful symbol of a city in flux, caught in a cycle of ruin and renewal. The view attracted other artists in this period (see TG0226 figure 2), though the inclusion of the undamaged south transept of the old Savoy Hospital tends to lessen the impact of the composition. Wisely, Girtin moved his viewpoint closer to the river thereby omitting the bulky structure and enhancing the contrast of ancient and modern. All of this was to be swept away within a few years, however, with the building of the Strand Bridge (1811–17), later renamed Waterloo Bridge.
1795 - 1796
Part of the Ruins of the Savoy Palace, Westminster Bridge Beyond
TG0226
1795 - 1796
Part of the Ruins of the Savoy Palace, Westminster Bridge Beyond
TG0366
1795 - 1796
Part of the Ruins of the Savoy Palace, Westminster Bridge Beyond
TG0226
1795 - 1796
Part of the Ruins of the Savoy Palace, Westminster Bridge Beyond
TG0366
1795 - 1796
An Interior View of the Ruins of the Savoy Hospital
TG0240
1795 - 1796
Part of the Ruins of the Savoy Palace, Westminster Bridge Beyond
TG0226