This view looking north east along the Grand Canal in Venice is one of three watercolours made by Girtin after etchings by Antonio Visentini (1688–1782) that were, in turn, based on oil paintings by Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto) (1697–1768) (the others being TG0898 and TG0899). Girtin generally followed his source closely (see the source image above), but in this case he departed from Visentini’s image with unsatisfactory results. In particular, he removed the monumental Palazzo Corner shown prominently to the right of Visentini’s print and brought forward the much less distinguished buildings from beyond the palace. As a result, Girtin was able to achieve the more panoramic proportions that he created in the other two watercolours by cutting the proportions of sky and water at the top and bottom of the composition, but this is at the expense of topographical accuracy; moreover, of greater concern, the scale of the boats and their associated figures are thrown out of proportion with the buildings.

All three of the Venetian scenes after Visentini’s etchings were commissioned by one of Girtin’s most important early patrons, John Henderson (1764–1843), and, as with the twenty or so copies after contemporary and older prints that he produced for the collector, it is safe to assume that he worked from impressions in Henderson’s possession. A slightly earlier drawing by Girtin (TG0897), after a different set of prints from Canaletto, is executed in pen and ink over a pencil drawing and was no doubt acquired as an example of Girtin’s skills as a draughtsman, but the three Venetian watercolours instead follow the pattern of the bulk of the work produced by Girtin and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) at the home of another early collector, Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833). Their task was to provide the patron with more finished versions of material that he already had access to, either as sketches or as reproductive prints. The outcome of the commission is a watercolour that, whilst its distinctive Venetian subject matter clearly indicates its source in a composition by Canaletto, achieves its effect in a medium and style that are clearly Girtin’s own, albeit that the work is by no means of the highest quality.

It is important to stress this point because, with the comment of one of Girtin’s obituarists in mind – that Canaletto was the ‘first master that struck his attention forcibly’ – it is easy to misrepresent the older artist’s influence on Girtin (Gentleman’s Magazine, February 1803, p.189).¹ Certainly Girtin studied Canaletto’s drawings and etchings around 1795, and the influence can be seen in the way that the young artist recorded architectural details in pencil sketches such as Winchester Cathedral, from the North East (TG0276), in his characteristic use of pen and ink in The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle (TG0266) and even in the fluid way in which he drew in forms using the tip of the brush in Lindisfarne: Interior View of the Ruins (TG1105). However, none of these stylistic features are evident in Visentini’s etchings after Canaletto’s works, and Girtin’s version of the composition is about the imaginative transformation of a humble source. Ironically, the economical way that the figures have been dashed in with vertical strokes of a few colours and, indeed, the palette that Girtin employed to work up his black and white source suggest that he had seen and studied Canaletto’s oil paintings as well as his graphic work.

On a technical note, the paper historian Peter Bower has identified the support used by Girtin as an off-white laid drawing cartridge paper by an unknown Dutch maker, and this is also employed in the two companion drawings (TG0898 and TG0899) (Bower, Report).

1797 - 1798

Venice: The Grand Canal, from Santa Maria della Carità, Looking to San Marco Basin

TG0898

1797 - 1798

Venice: The Grand Canal, Looking East from the Palazzo Flangini to San Marcuola

TG0899

1796 - 1797

Venice: The Rialto Bridge

TG0897

(?) 1795

Winchester Cathedral, from the North East

TG0276

1793 - 1794

The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle, from the East

TG0266

(?) 1796

Lindisfarne: An Interior View of the Ruins of the Priory Church

TG1105

1797 - 1798

Venice: The Grand Canal, from Santa Maria della Carità, Looking to San Marco Basin

TG0898

1797 - 1798

Venice: The Grand Canal, Looking East from the Palazzo Flangini to San Marcuola

TG0899