St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin thumbnail 1
St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H , Case WD, Shelf 41

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Watercolour
ca. 1797 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Watercolour view of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleSt Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour
Brief description
Watercolour, Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, by James Malton, ca. 1797.
Physical description
Watercolour view of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
Dimensions
  • Height: 5.25in
  • Width: 7.75in
Dimensions taken from departmental notes
Object history
Historical Significance:

James Malton was the younger son of the architectural draughtsman Thomas Malton the elder (1726-1801). Like his brother Thomas Malton the younger, James was a master of perspective. He accompanied his father, along with his brother, to Dublin, where he was employed for three years by the architect James Gandon. His Picturesque and Descriptive View of the City of Dublin, published between 1792 and 1797 and containing 25 plates is one of the earliest and best books of acquatint views. From 1791 he exhibited at the Incorporated Society of Artists, the Free Society and the Royal Academy, where he showed 50 works. Like his brother, James’s city views show a keen observation for the details and types of figures populating the streets.

This view shows the south elevation of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. The present building dates to 1220 and has been designated by the Church of Ireland as the national Cathedral of Ireland. It is likely that Malton produced this view whilst he was working for the architect James Gandon. The line of the cathedral wall draws our eye into the composition and to the spire, which had been added in 1769. This austere form contrasts with the dilapidated walls of the south side of the cathedral. In 1792 divine service was temporarily suspended due to the poor condition of this part of the cathedral. It is possible that this event inspired Malton to depict the cathedral from this viewpoint. The ruined state of the wall is in keeping with picturesque ideals which were growing in popularity in the eighteenth century through the publication of the Rev. Gilpin and the work of artists including Turner. Malton demonstrates his ability at representing different surfaces through depicting the varying states of decay of this building. The artist also depicts the different figures on the street with an acute observation.

Between 1792-4 James Malton published the Picturesque and Descriptive view of Dublin. A series of 25 acqautints, a set of engravings was also made (see British Museum collection) in 1797. It is likely that this watercolour and the print related to it came from the series of engravings.
Subject depicted
Place depicted
Associated object
172A-1890 (Reproduction)
Collection
Accession number
172-1890

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJanuary 27, 2012
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest