St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Watercolour
ca. 1797 (made)
ca. 1797 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Watercolour view of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | St 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 |
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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 |
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Record created | January 27, 2012 |
Record URL |
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