After James Malton (1761-1803)  View of the Law Courts, Dub...

Estimate

€800 - €1,000

After James Malton (1761-1803) 

View of the Law Courts, Dublin, approx. 41.5cms x 61cms (16 1/2" x 24")

This impressive sepia and watercolour painting of the Four Courts in Dublin, by an unknown artist, is closely based on James Malton’s engraving of the same subject. The painting appears to date from around 1800, and so would have been done not long after Malton's aquatint view was published, in the 1790’s. Although signed ‘Malton’ it is probably by a follower of the artist.

* An English-born engraver and watercolourist, James Malton moved to Ireland as a child in the 1780’s, and following his father in taking up the profession of architectural draughtsman, working for a time in the offices of architect James Gandon. Leaving this employment, he began working as an artist, and in 1790 submitted two drawings to the Society of Artists in London. He is best known for a series of twenty five aquatint and etching prints entitled A Picturesque and Descriptive View of the City of Dublin, published in the 1790’s. Several of the buildings he drew, including the Law Courts, had been designed by his former employer James Gandon. Although Malton hoped to capitalise on the growth in prosperity of Dublin, the passing of the Act of Union reduced the importance of the city, and he was obliged to maintain his ties with London, exhibiting frequently there, at the Royal Academy. Among the works he showed at the RA were seventeen views of Dublin in Indian ink and watercolour, mostly depicting the same subjects as his published prints. Larger than the original plates, they also differed in detail, with some figures removed and other added. While it is tempting to see this sepia and watercolour painting of the Law Courts as an autograph work by Gandon, it lacks his firm grasp of architectural perspective and his ability to include figures and carriages rendered with elegance and flair, as exemplified in his book Designs for Rural Retreats, published in 1802. He died the following year, 1803.
Dr. Peter Murray, 2023