Girtin, Thomas

Girtin, Thomas (gûr'tun) [key], 1775–1802, English draftsman and watercolorist. He was apprenticed to an engraver but was employed, together with J. M. W. Turner, to make topographical drawings. Girtin was among the first to paint naturalistically in watercolor, abandoning the tinted drawing for a direct painting technique, using broad, strong areas of color. In this technique he radically influenced English landscape painting and anticipated the 19th-century watercolor. Characteristic among his drawings are Tynemouth, View on the Wharf, and Kirkstall Abbey (Victoria and Albert Mus.).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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