- Museum number
- 1855,0214.25
- Description
-
Thames from the Temple to Blackfriars, Section V of Girtin's panorama of London 'Eidometropolis'; the river in the foreground, the opposite shore and distance from St Andrew's, Holborn right to Temple Gardens, St Clement Danes. 1800-01
Watercolour
- Production date
- 1800-1801
- Dimensions
-
Height: 211 millimetres
-
Width: 485 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- Section 5 - Temple to Blackfriars
The skill of Girtin's treatment of light and shade is particularly evident in this study. The left portion is in deep shade, while the buildings in the right-hand two-thirds have unusually strong contrast between the sunlit, south-facing facades towards the river and their shadowed sides. The riverside lawn of the Temple Gardens was singled out by one reviewer for its brighter tint. The skyline is broken by the spire of St Clement Danes to the left and the tower of St Andrews Holborn to the right, a white beacon in an area which, again, Girtin has cast under the shadow of a passing cloud.
For an introduction to Girtin's panorama, see 1855,0214.24.
A related etching (reg.no 1863,0110.98) is kept with these drawings.
See also 1855,0214.23-28
The most recent full discussion of the panorama is Greg Smith,' A 'connoisseur's panorama' : Thomas Girtin's Eidometropolis and other London views, c. 1796-1802', edited by Sheila O'Connell, London Topographical Society, No. 180, 2018
Stainton 1985
At the left, the tower of St Clement Danes; the Inner Temple buildings and King's Bench Walk can be seen behind Temple Stairs. To the right are timber wharves and Whitefriars Dock, while in the distance on the right is the tower of St Andrew, Holborn. Girtin's characteristic low horizon and his power of suggesting a landscape stretching away into an infinite distance, is nowhere more clearly seen than in this watercolour.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
1975, Jan-Feb, Manchester, Whitworth Art Gallery, and Mar-Apr, V & A, 'Watercolours by Thomas Girtin', no. 27
1985, BM, British Landscape Watercolours 1600-1860, no.82c
1988/9 Nov-Jan, London, Barbican, 'Panoramania!', no.34
2002 July-Sep, London, Tate Britain, 'Thomas Girtin and the Art of Watercolour', no.
- Acquisition date
- 1855
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1855,0214.25
