Thomas Girtin
Born – London, England 1775
Died – London, England 1802
Thomas Girtin did much to promote watercolour painting to a fine art in its own right. His watercolours were greatly admired during his short lifetime, not least by his friend Turner. The two men worked together for Dr Monro, copying topographical drawings, including those of Canaletto. The most important technical innovation for which Girtin had responsibility was the abandonment of the practice of monochrome underpainting. He favoured loose washes of a pure colour, often applied to a semi-absorbent off-white paper. This gave his landscapes a freshness and daring that at times surpassed the work of Turner. Girtin travelled around Britain producing watercolours of landscape in his direct style. In 1801-1802 he visited Paris and made a number of etchings of the city. On his return to England he exhibited a vast panoramic painting of London. This work is now lost, but there are several sketches for it in the British Museum. Poetic and soft-edged, his painting of the White House, Chelsea is one of his finest works.
Masterpieces:
- A Winding Estuary
- Porte St Denis
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.