This view of the Tuileries Palace and the Pont Royal, taken from the Pont de la Concorde, was coloured by Girtin working over a soft-ground etching (see print after TG1871), which, in turn, reproduced an on-the-spot pencil drawing made in early 1802 (TG1871). Girtin added the washes for the guidance of William Pickett (active 1790–1820), who was employed to aquatint the artist’s plate, fleshing out the etched lines with tones that approximate to those of a monochrome sketch (see print after TG1871a). The completed print (see the print after, above) was published a couple of months after the artist’s death as plate six 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

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 (see figure 1). 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 once owned by Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford (1788–1861), are very much working drawings; indeed, in some cases they have been cut down, as in this case, where a third of the composition has been lost to the right. This was presumably done to disguise the careless treatment that it underwent in the studio of Pickett. The utilitarian nature of these drawings can also be identified by the fact that, in addition to providing instructions to the professional aquatinter regarding the distribution of light and shade, they often include Girtin’s amendments, though in this case these have been kept to a minimum. 

The issue has been complicated further by the existence of what appears to be a second colour study by Girtin (see figure 2), though this may be an example of another artist colouring an impression of the soft-ground etching.

1802

The Tuileries Palace and the Pont Royal, Taken from the Pont de la Concorde: Pencil Study for Plate Six of ‘Picturesque Views in Paris’

TG1871

1802

The Tuileries Palace and the Pont Royal, Taken from the Pont de la Concorde: Pencil Study for Plate Six of ‘Picturesque Views in Paris’

TG1871

1802

The Tuileries Palace and the Pont Royal, Taken from the Pont de la Concorde: Colour Study for Plate Six of ‘Picturesque Views in Paris’

TG1871a