Despite his untimely death at age twenty-seven, Girtin revolutionized British drawing. He embraced a more painterly style of watercolor drawing, deploying bold washes and somber coloring with dramatic compositional effects. The monochrome palette of this drawing was typical of a group of British draftsmen to which Girtin belonged in the 1790s that sought to elevate their work to the status of the epic, forming a sketching society to promote their cause. Their subjects were usually taken from a literary source or from the imagination--as was this drawing, since Girtin never traveled to Italy. -- Exhibition Label, from "Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the Thaw Collection"
Inscribed on verso, "Girtin / Drawn in the House of R.K.P. / 1800".
Girtin, Thomas Calvert, former owner.
Cooper, Mrs., former owner.
Davis, Mr., former owner.
Bullock, B. de le, former owner.
Norris, Christopher, former owner.
Thaw, Eugene Victor, former owner.
Thaw, Clare, former owner.
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY, "Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the Thaw Collection", 2017. Exh. cat., no. 160, repr.
Denison, Cara D. et al. The Thaw Collection : Master Drawings and New Acquisitions. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1994, no. 57.