Deer in Windsor Forest

Thomas Girtin

1793–94 · Graphite and watercolor · Drawings and Prints

Girtin’s gemlike watercolor centers on a sturdy tree sheltering deer at Windsor, with a pond and fields in the middle distance and low hills beyond. The work conveys the impression of a sunny summer day but must have been finished indoors under controlled conditions since adjacent patches of color had time to dry; they would have blended slightly if painted quickly out of doors. Though Girtin was only eighteen when he made this watercolor, he ably conveys subtle variations of light, shade, and texture. Together with J. M. W. Turner, the artist is regarded as one of Britain’s most important watercolorists, who took the medium in unexpected directions. Tragically, his career was cut short by illness at the age of twenty-seven.

Artist

Thomas Girtin

Date

1793–94

Medium

Graphite and watercolor

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Connie Simmons and James D. Krugman Gift, 2018