This view of the River Nidd between Knaresborough and Wetherby in Yorkshire appears to be based on a sketch produced by Girtin in 1800 (TG1629), though the status of that work and its claim to be produced on the spot has yet to be firmly established. Girtin spent part of the summer of that year with Edward Lascelles (1764–1814), for whom he produced a group of very large watercolours of the patron’s home, Harewood House (TG1547 and TG1548), together with other local scenes, including a distant view of Knaresborough (TG1669). Other scenes along the river Nidd (TG1550), as well as in Wetherby and Knaresborough, were based on sketches that Girtin made along its course in what amounted to a sustained campaign of on-the-spot studies. The majority of these were executed in pencil (TG1509), but some were enhanced with monochrome washes (TG1539) and so the inscription on the back of the dated version of this composition which asserts that it was ‘Coloured on the spot … Thos Girtin 1800’ may be correct. However, the fact that it is so much larger than all but one of the on-the-spot sketches, sharing the same dimensions as this sheet, as well as featuring cattle in the same carefully considered positions, suggests that the inscription and date might have been added by another hand. Could it be that an early owner was misled by Girtin’s spontaneous and rapid execution and misinterpreted a studio work? In which case what we have, as with Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate (TG0217 and TG0372), is an example of Girtin replicating a composition using a technique that blurs the distinction between a sketch and a studio work with the aim of producing an innovative and attractive commodity at an accessible price.

Sadly, the work is badly faded, though it is unlikely to have been brightly coloured originally. A strip to the left and another partly across the top, both of which were once protected from the damaging effect of light by an old mount, highlights the deterioration in condition as well as indicating that the drawing originally included a skyscape that has disappeared. The faded condition of the work was no doubt exacerbated by Girtin’s choice of pigments. Of the fifteen Girtin is recorded to have used, at least four are very fugitive: a blue, indigo; two yellows, gamboge and brown pink; and a purple, brown lake. A description by William Henry Pyne (1770–1843) of Girtin at work indicates the likely factors involved (Pyne, 1823a, p.67).¹ Girtin’s skies are particularly susceptible, since, as Pyne noted, the azure spaces between the clouds were often created using a mix of indigo and lake, and their shadows commonly employed light red and indigo. Subsequent fading means that the blues have often disappeared entirely, whilst the grey parts of the cloud are often reduced to an orange-red. The earth pigments Girtin used for buildings and for his foregrounds are more stable, but the greens employed for depicting vegetation introduced another problem. There was no readily available dependable green pigment at this date; the variety of tones had to be mixed from blue and yellow, and, as Pyne again records, Girtin often used a combination of gamboge and indigo. As a result, many of his trees have been reduced to monochrome or a muddy khaki colour at the expense of the original sense of depth.

1800

The River Nidd between Knaresborough and Wetherby

TG1629

(?) 1801

Harewood House, from the South West

TG1547

(?) 1801

Harewood House, from the South East

TG1548

1801

A Distant View of Knaresborough, from the South East

TG1669

1800

Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough

TG1550

1799 - 1800

Grimbald Bridge, near Knaresborough

TG1509

1799 - 1800

Knaresborough, from the North West

TG1539

(?) 1795

Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate

TG0217

1796

Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate

TG0372