This view of the Pont Neuf on the river Seine in Paris, with the towers of Notre Dame beyond, was probably coloured by Girtin working over his own soft-ground etching (see print after TG1872), which, in turn, reproduced an on-the-spot pencil drawing made in early 1802 (TG1872). Girtin added washes to a set of the etchings for the guidance of specialists such as Frederick Christian Lewis (1779–1856) who were employed to aquatint the artist’s plates, fleshing out the etched lines with tones that approximate to those of a monochrome sketch (see the print after, above). The completed print was published a couple of months after the artist’s death as plate seven of Twenty of the Most Picturesque Views in Paris and Its Environs by his widow, Mary Ann Girtin (1781–1843), and his brother, John Girtin (1773–1821), the latter of whom, in addition to financing the project, took over the final stages of its production. The twenty prints were finally published together in an edition of around 130, with the etchings selling for four guineas, the aquatints for five guineas and a set of proof impressions six guineas (Hardie, 1966–68, vol.2, p.8; Smith, 2017–18, pp.32–35). The large prints were very much a luxury product, so it is somewhat surprising that the list of subscribers includes, in addition to many of the best known of Girtin’s patrons, a significant number of artists, amongst which are the names of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), Sir William Beechey (1753–1839), Benjamin West (1738–1820), John Hoppner (1758–1810) and Henry Edridge (1768–1821) as well as many of Girtin’s fellow watercolourists, such as John Varley (1778–1842) and John Glover (1767–1849) (Chancery, Income and Expenses, 1804).¹

The element of doubt about the authorship of the washes in this work stems from the fact that the set of eighteen hand-coloured etchings Girtin produced for his engravers, sold in 1951 from the collection of the 12th Duke of Bedford, did not include an impression of plate seven. Moreover, the set generally contains more signs of colour than is seen here and they also incorporate additions and corrections in pencil to the etched lines. However, it is possible that the work left the Bedford collection at an earlier unrecorded date and, as demonstrated by the protected strip at the bottom, this impression has faded and lost colour so that details such as the clouds in the sky are no longer clearly visible. And so, on balance, I am minded to believe that this is indeed the missing hand-coloured study for plate seven.

Girtin produced a second set of hand-coloured impressions of his etchings, which were carefully mounted and sold by John Girtin to the dedicatee of the publication, George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex (1757–1839), for £50, though the whereabouts of this example is not known. The two sets have been the cause of considerable confusion, but, following the discovery of new evidence about John Girtin’s role in the project, it has been possible to distinguish their very different functions (Smith, 2017–18, pp.32–35). The set sold to the earl is thus complete, and it is carefully rendered and presented so as to resemble Girtin’s finished watercolours. In contrast, the group of eighteen hand-coloured etchings, which were first owned by Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford (1788–1861), are very much working drawings; indeed, in some cases they have been cut down, presumably to disguise their careless treatment whilst in the studios of the four men who were employed by the Girtin brothers to add aquatint to the plates.

A photograph in the Girtin Archive (12/10) reproduces a smaller version of this composition that is signed ‘T. Girtin Paris’ (see figure 1). It was described by Tom Girtin (1913–94) as a ‘sepia study’, and he added that it was one of the ‘only real Girtins’ of Paris scenes that he had seen. It has not been possible to confirm the attribution from the photograph, though it seems unlikely that Girtin would have departed from his normal practice of colouring a soft ground etching for the guidance of the man employed to add aquatint to his etched plate and to my eye the signature also looks very suspicious.

1802

The Pont Neuf, Part of the Louvre, Notre Dame and the College of the Four Nations: Pencil Study for Plate Seven of ‘Picturesque Views in Paris’

TG1872

1802

The Pont Neuf, Part of the Louvre, Notre Dame and the College of the Four Nations: Pencil Study for Plate Seven of ‘Picturesque Views in Paris’

TG1872