The idea that this view of Windsor Castle seen from the south east was produced at the home of Dr Thomas Monro as a collaboration between Girtin and his contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) is not initially a compelling one. The several hundred collaborations between the two artists overwhelmingly depict foreign scenes that they could not have accessed during wartime, whilst the bulk of the British subjects show views in Wales and the Lake District which they were either never to visit or, as in Turner’s case, travelled to at a later date; both categories of subject were therefore worked at second hand after sketches by artists of older generations. That said, if there was one location outside of London that one might expect a young watercolourist to have visited as a matter of course it was Windsor, but evidence of either artist studying the castle in its landscape setting is surprisingly thin.¹ The castle in a watercolour by Turner of c.1795, now in the Royal Collection (RCIN 452672), is by no means convincing, whilst a distant view of Windsor in an imaginary river landscape (Tate Britain, TB XXXIII - H) appears to have been adapted from another artist. And given that Turner made an impressive large-scale and carefully worked copy of a view of Windsor Castle from the south west by John Robert Cozens (1752–97) (see TG1467 figure 1), it is possible that the older artist was also the source for this slighter work with its ubiquitous herd of deer. Evidence regarding a visit by Girtin to Windsor is likewise ambiguous and, given that he too may have been the author of a copy of the same composition by Cozens (TG1467), I am not convinced that either of his two mature views of Windsor Castle seen from the south west (TG0907 and TG1369) were made from his own on-the-spot sketches. The fact is that distant views of Windsor Castle in its parkland setting were so common at this date that a trip out of London was not needed for the completion of a simple composition such as the work considered here. Evidence of a Monro connection is also strengthened by reference to the catalogue of the collector’s posthumous sale which lists Windsor views by both Girtin and Turner (Christie’s, 26 June 1833, lot 103 – Turner ‘Windsor Castle’and Christie's, 1 July 1833, lot 102 – Girtin, ‘Windsor Castle’). Both drawings were part of multiple lots with each item fetching just over £1, a figure which is in keeping with the value placed on the bulk of the monochrome Monro School works and too little for full scale and carefully worked up copies such as TG1467 and TG1467 figure 1.

The Monro sale catalogue nowhere acknowledges that any of the works were produced by the two artists in collaboration and it seems that thirty odd years after their production Girtin’s contribution to many hundreds of the works attributed to Turner had been forgotten. Intriguingly, the 1833 sale includes numerous drawings attributed to Girtin alone, including twenty-five or so foreign subjects that must have been copied from other artists, as well as two Italian scenes that are specified as being ‘after Cozens’ (Christie’s, 1 July 1833, lots 10 and 108). This is worth bearing in mind because although the pencil work on this sheet includes many touches that are characteristic of Girtin’s hand, particularly in the detailing of the architecture in the middle ground and the deer in the foreground, the watercolour washes are not so obviously the work of Turner. The free calligraphic touches found in the foreground feel closer to Girtin’s work and though this is not enough to conclude that the work was not a collaborative effort there must at least be a suspicion that it was one of the items listed in the catalogue as being by Girtin but which have not so far been identified, possibly even the ‘Windsor Castle’ listed on 1 July. I suspect that inscriptions on early mounts allowed the auction house to identify works as being by Girtin and that their loss over time has meant that the sole authorship of a significant number of his works has been obscured.

A slightly smaller and more partial view of the castle from the Great Park taken from a closer vantage point came from the same mid-twentieth century collection, that of Leonard Duke (1890–1971) (figure 1) and it too features deer in the foreground (Sotheby’s, 11 July 1996, lot 22). Sadly, the work is known only from a black and white image, and though the pencil work appears to be by Girtin and the washes differ in character to those found on the drawing at Yale, it is not possible to say with any degree of confidence that it merits a joint attribution to Girtin and Turner and if that, in turn, has implications for the authorship of the larger and less occluded view of the castle catalogued here.

1794 - 1795

Windsor Castle, Viewed from the South West

TG1467

1797 - 1798

Windsor Park and Castle, from Snow Hill

TG0907

1797 - 1798

Windsor Castle and the Great Park, from the South West

TG1369

1794 - 1795

Windsor Castle, Viewed from the South West

TG1467

1794 - 1795

Windsor Castle, Viewed from the South West

TG1467