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The Waterworks at Marli, and St. German en Laye seen in the distance (La Machine de Marli, avec une vue eloignée de St. German en Laye)

Etcher Designed and etched by Thomas Girtin British
Engraver Aquatint by James Harraden British
Publisher John Girtin British
1803
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 690
The Peace of Amiens offered Britons a pause in their long conflict with Napoleonic France, allowing Girtin to visit Paris for five months in 1801–2. While there, he sketched along the Seine to create panoramic compositions that he later etched back in London; they would be aquatinted and published only after the artist’s early death, in 1802. Harraden added aquatint here to develop a moody vista along the river west of Paris, with reflected evening light used to define the water’s winding path below hills already in shadow. In the foreground we are given a glimpse of a major pumping system built under Louis XIV in the 1680s to supply the Château of Marly and gardens at Versailles with water.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Waterworks at Marli, and St. German en Laye seen in the distance (La Machine de Marli, avec une vue eloignée de St. German en Laye)
  • Series/Portfolio: A Selection of Twenty of the Most Picturesque Views in Paris and its Environs
  • Etcher: Designed and etched by Thomas Girtin (British, London 1775–1802 London)
  • Engraver: Aquatint by James Harraden (British, active 1801–14)
  • Publisher: John Girtin (British, 1773–after 1820)
  • Date: 1803
  • Medium: Soft-ground etching and aquatint
  • Dimensions: Plate: 8 7/8 × 21 1/4 in. (22.5 × 54 cm)
    Sheet: 18 1/2 × 26 1/16 in. (47 × 66.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1918
  • Object Number: 18.56.17
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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