- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- Ripon Minster, from the South East
- Date
- 1800 - 1801
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 31.3 × 51.1 cm, 12 ⅜ × 20 ⅛ in
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour
- Subject Terms
- Gothic Architecture: Cathedral View; River Scenery; Yorkshire View
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1666
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 156 as 'Ripon Minster' by Girtin but 'Listed with some reserve'; '1796'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001 and June 2018
Provenance
Sir James Stuart (according to 1825 mezzotint); ... James Guthrie Orchar (1825–98); presented to the Royal Scottish Academy, 1882; transferred to the Gallery, 1910
Bibliography
Hill, 1999, p.52; Tate Gallery, 1996, p.22; Baker, 2011, p.128
Place depicted
Other entries in Late Watercolours:
Samuel William Reynolds and Painting for the Art Market
An Imaginary City, with Antique Buildings
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Ancient Ruins, with an Obelisk
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Ancient Ruins, with a Gothic Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
A Classical Composition, with a Church and Column
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
The Arch of Janus, Rome
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Temple of Clitumnus
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Rome: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Rome: The Temple of Saturn, with the Arch of Septimius Severus
Private Collection
A Town on an Estuary
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
A Lagoon Capriccio
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
An Unidentified Coastal Landscape with a Windmill
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
Barnard Castle, from the River Tees
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle upon Tyne
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Exterior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland (English Heritage)
Kelso Abbey: The West Front
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Jedburgh Abbey, from the Riverbank
The Higgins, Bedford
On the River Medway, with a Boatyard, Beached Vessels and Hulks
Private Collection
Bisham Abbey, on the River Thames
Private Collection
A Classical Composition, with Figures Admiring the Sculptures
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
An Unidentified Ruin next to a Bridge over a Stream, Said to Be Furness Abbey
Touchstones Rochdale
The Gatehouse of Morpeth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough
British Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Hill
British Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Bridge, Morning
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from the Canal, Evening
Private Collection
A Distant View of Kirkstall Abbey
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead
An Unidentified Scene, Formerly Known as ‘Kirkstall Village’
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Wetherby Bridge and Mills, Looking across the Weir
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
British Museum, London
Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
Leeds Art Gallery
Kirk Deighton, near Wetherby
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
York: The New Walk on the Banks of the River Ouse
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
Private Collection
York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
Private Collection
A Farmyard with Barns, Ladder and Figures; A Sky Study
Courtauld Gallery, London
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Leeds Art Gallery
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery
A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
Private Collection
Ripon Minster, from the South East
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Ripon Minster, from the South West
Private Collection
The Abbey Mill, near Knaresborough
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Mountain Stream in Spate, Possibly the River Wharfe
Private Collection
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church from across the River Wharfe
Eton College, Windsor
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
Leeds Art Gallery
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection
The Banks of the River Wharfe, with Bolton Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Storiths Heights, near Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Richmond Castle, from the River Swale
Leeds Art Gallery
A Farmhouse in Malhamdale, Known as 'Kirkby Priory, near Malham'
British Museum, London
An Ancient Oak, Said to Be on the River Ure
Private Collection
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection, Norfolk
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End
Tate, London
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory; The Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury
Private Collection, Norfolk
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle upon Tyne
Private Collection
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Upland Landscape, Said to Show Etal Castle
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The River Tweed at Kelso, Looking Upstream
Courtauld Gallery, London
The Eildon Hills, from the River Tweed
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
A Distant View of Dryburgh Abbey, with the Eildon Hills Beyond
Private Collection
The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection
Jedburgh Abbey, from Jed Water
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Jedburgh Abbey, from the South East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Village of Jedburgh
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Southampton: The South Gate and Old Gaol
Private Collection
Bristol Harbour, with St Mary Redcliffe in the Distance
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
Art Institute of Chicago
A Rainbow over the River Exe
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
A Rainbow over the River Exe
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
A Rainbow over the River Exe
Graves Gallery, Sheffield
Lydford Castle, from the River Lyd
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
St Vincent’s Rocks and the Avon Gorge
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
On the River Taw, North Devon, Looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Conwy Castle, from the River Gyffin
Private Collection, Norfolk
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
Tate, London
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea
Private Collection, Norfolk
A Panoramic Landscape, with Figures Trawling a Pond
Private Collection
Landscape with a Distant Ridge, Possibly Hampstead Heath
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Inn Yard, Edgware Road, Paddington
British Museum, London
The Thames from a Window of the Old Toy Inn, Hampton Court
British Museum, London
The Old Cottage, Widmore, near Bromley
British Museum, London
Shipping on the River Medway
Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
A Farmyard with Cattle, Poultry and Labourers Unloading Hay, Possibly Pinkney's Farm, Wimbish
Art Institute of Chicago
Farmhouse and Outbuildings, Possibly in Essex
Aberdeen Art Gallery
An Unidentified Village Street with a Church Tower in the Distance
British Museum, London
A Panoramic Landscape, Possibly Showing Primrose Hill, London
Private Collection
A Mountain Stream with a Watermill and Bridge
Eton College, Windsor
Unidentified Landscape with a Distant Rain Shower
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
Warkworth Church, with the Bridge Beyond
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
An Italianate Landscape with Two Monks
Private Collection
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About this Work
The extremely faded state of this watercolour, depicting a view of Ripon Minster from the south east, has caused some confusion about both the work’s date and its status. Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak thus listed the work as by Girtin ‘with some reserve’, and dated it to 1796 and to the artist’s first independent tour, to Yorkshire and the northern counties, whilst David Hill suggested that it is ‘a fine piece, possibly sketched on the spot in pencil, and perhaps even coloured on the spot to some extent’, and he also dated it to the earlier northern trip (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.155; Hill, 1999, p.52). Leaving aside the question of the date, there are a number of problems with the thesis that the work was coloured on the spot. Not the least is its large scale, which though not unprecedented (see TG1319) is certainly unusual as it actually conforms to the standard size of the studio watercolours that the artist produced around 1800 for sale by Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835), who acted on behalf of the artist in his final years in a role somewhere between agent and dealer. More concerning still is the sky, which, though it has faded to almost nothing, was originally highly complex and dramatic, as can be seen from the mezzotint that was engraved from the watercolour by Thomas Lupton (1791–1873) in 1825 (see the print after, bove). The grey clouds and the intervening patches of blue have all gone, but just enough remains in the form of faint monochrome washes to suggest that the mezzotint is an accurate record of the pre-faded condition of a skyscape that covered more than half of the area of the watercolour. With so much of the original missing, it is easy to see why earlier writers thought that the work was made on the spot because, in addition to the colouring having changed dramatically, which has also seen the degradation of the greens of the vegetation, the extensive underlying pencil drawing has been revealed. In particular, a tree to the right of the minster – which must have been sketched in as a framing device, as in Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe (TG1680), but which the artist thought better of and painted over – has once again become visible, so much so that I have wondered whether the drawing might not have been left off, unfinished. However, the experience of seeing so many badly faded watercolours by Girtin over the years has convinced me that this is a late studio work and that all of the evident pencil work that might suggest a drawing sketched on the spot would not originally have been visible. The status of the watercolour as a studio work is also suggested by the fact that we probably know the identity of its first owner, since the print notes that the drawing was ‘in the possession of Sir James Stuart’ (unknown dates), along with the comparable York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right (TG1656), which is the same size and would have made a fine pair. The latter was almost certainly sold by Reynolds, and there is a strong possibility that this was the case with this watercolour too.
The mezzotint by Lupton was published as plate twelve of The Rivers of England with the title ‘Ripon Minster on the Rivers Ure and Skell’, identifying the location of the view as from the confluence of the rivers, a few hundred metres to the south east of the minster. This is roughly the same direction from which Girtin’s contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) sketched the building (see figure 1), though he took his view from closer to and from the canal. Turner’s sketch dates from 1797 and may predate Girtin’s untraced drawing for this watercolour, though given that two, more distant views of the minster, also from the south east, may have stemmed from an earlier visit by Girtin in 1796 (TG1053 and TG1054), it is possible that it was the latter who inspired Turner to take his view.
(?) 1798
The Cain Falls (Pistyll Cain), near Dolgellau
TG1319
1801
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
TG1680
1800
York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
TG1656
1796 - 1797
A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
TG1053
1797 - 1798
A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
TG1054