A Selection of Twenty of the Most Picturesque Views in Paris: The Water Works at Marli, and St. Germain en Laye seen in the distance, result 1 of 1

England, 19th century

A Selection of Twenty of the Most Picturesque Views in Paris: The Water Works at Marli, and St. Germain en Laye seen in the distance

Print

1803

softground etching and aquatint printed in brown, hand-colored with watercolor

wove paper

Sheet: 45.3 x 63.2 cm (17 13/16 x 24 7/8 in.); Platemark: 22.7 x 54.5 cm (8 15/16 x 21 7/16 in.)

Girtin, along with his rival J. M. W. Turner, extended the technical possibilities of watercolor and in doing so demonstrated that watercolors could have the visual impact of oils. His reduction of landscape to simple and monumental forms, his panoramic compositions, and his sensitivity to natural effects, such as cloud formations, influenced subsequent generations of watercolor painters. Anxious to take advantage of the Peace of Amiens (October 1, 1801), Girtin went to Paris to see the artistic treasures brought back from Italy by Napoleon and installed in the Louvre. He made graphite sketches of the city and its environs and upon his return to London made etchings based on his drawings. Girtin died of tuberculosis shortly thereafter, and the series was published by his widow and brother.

In plate: Drawn & Etch'd by Thos Girtin; Aquatinted by J. B. Harraden; LONDON: Pubd Jan 15, 1803 by John Girtin, No. I, Little Newport Street

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Collection: PR - Etching

Department: Prints

Provenance: [The Brainard Gallery (group of 10 from this series 3/19/93)]

Gift of John Bonebrake

Abbey 102, 15b with letters

Image and original data from The Cleveland Museum of Art