Tintern Abbey
Maker
(artist)
1775-1802
After
(artist)
1763-1804
1775-1802
After
(artist)
1763-1804
Title
Tintern Abbey
Date of Production
(circa) 1792
Medium
graphite, brown ink wash and watercolour on wove paper
Dimensions
Height: 15.5 cm
Width: 24 cm
Width: 24 cm
Accession Number
D.2007.DS.19
Mode of Acquisition
Dorothy Scharf, bequest, 2007 (March)
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
Tintern Abbey was a highlight of the popular tour along the River Wye in the 1790s. This watercolour is a copy made by the seventeen-year old Girtin after a drawing by Edward Dayes, his teacher. Dayes’ influence is apparent from the restricted palette of blue-greys and browns and the ‘tinted’ drawing style — the traditional watercolour technique, whereby light washes are applied over darker tones. Like Dayes, Girtin introduces minute figures to emphasise the massive scale of the ruins that dominate the scene.
Provenance
J. Walker, 1792; Frederick Huth, by 1886; anonymous sale, Sotheby's (London), 17 February 1954, lot 18; purchased there by Thomas Agnew & Sons (London); W. Cooke; Thomas Agnew & Sons (London), 1985; purchased there by Miss Dorothy Scharf, London (1942-2004) (£9,000); Scharf Bequest 2007
Exhibition History
Tintern Abbey, Chepstow Museum, Chepstow, UK, 24/05/2014-28/09/2014
British Watercolours from the Scharf Bequest, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 15/10/2008-01/01/2009
112th Annual Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 21/01/1986-22/02/1986
British Watercolours from the Scharf Bequest, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 15/10/2008-01/01/2009
112th Annual Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 21/01/1986-22/02/1986
Literature
Sites of Inspiration: Tintern Abbey, Chepstow Museum, 2014
no. 22
no. 22
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: Recto, right side: "WHATMAN".
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower left, light brown ink, signed, the last letter gone over in dark brown ink: "T Girtin". Verso (former backing sheet, now removed, attested to in file): "Tintern Abbey from the River Wye drawn by T. Girtin, in the collection of J. Walker, 1792".
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower left, light brown ink, signed, the last letter gone over in dark brown ink: "T Girtin". Verso (former backing sheet, now removed, attested to in file): "Tintern Abbey from the River Wye drawn by T. Girtin, in the collection of J. Walker, 1792".
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