Lindisfarne Castle, Holy Island, Northumberland

1796–97

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 690

Dramatically situated on the coast of Northumbria, Holy Island can only be reached at low tide. This watercolor was likely based on sketches Girtin made during a northern tour in the summer of 1796 and may have been shown at the Royal Academy the following year. Much influenced by his friend J. M. W. Turner, also born in 1775, Girtin imparted a visionary grandeur to the scene. The massive basalt cliff that rises above the shore, topped by a sixteenth-century castle, overshadows tiny figures below. Relegated to the distance are the ruins of St. Mary’s Priory. A fine example of Girtin’s inventive genius as a watercolorist while still in his early twenties, Lindisfarne Castle is shown here to mark the 250th anniversary of the artist’s birth.

Artwork Details

Title: Lindisfarne Castle, Holy Island, Northumberland
Artist: Thomas Girtin (British, London 1775–1802 London)
Date: 1796–97
Medium: Watercolor and bodycolor (gouache)
Dimensions: Sheet: 15 in. × 20 1/2 in. (38.1 × 52 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1906
Object Number: 06.1051.1
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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