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Terra cina

Artist: Giles, James, RSA · 1801-1870

Terra cina

"Self educated as he was, in 1823 he started on his "grand tour". In London he made jottings on various masters and their modes of working - certainly…

"Self educated as he was, in 1823 he started on his "grand tour". In London he made jottings on various masters and their modes of working - certainly remarkable, considering his youth. In 1824 he went to Paris, where he copied a Titian in the Louvre, and afterwards became a pupil in Regnault's atelier. He spent about two years, or a little more, in France and Italy - mostly in Paris and Rome, sketching diligently in pencil and watercolour and painting in oil. He also made copies of about forty works by the old masters, which afterwards adorned the walls of his studio. In Rome, James Giles was fortunate in making the acquaintance of Hugh Irvine, a member of the family of Drum, himself a painter and etcher, for whom in after years Giles had a respect which almost amounted to veneration. By Hugh Irvine, Giles was introduced to his freinds and to trhe leading artists in Rome; and afterwards at Aberdeen to certain county gentlemen who had some taste for art." (extracted from Memoir of James Giles, in the book, Drawings of Aberdeenshire Castles by James Giles RSA, pub The Third Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1936, pp.ix-x Fenton Wyness, writing in the catalogiue to accompany the James Giles centenary exhibition held at Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum (1970-06-13 to 1970-07-04) states; "In 1823 he went to London where he studied under various promine nt artists. The following year he was in Paris - a pupil at Regnault's atelier - but he soon moved south to Marseilles and eventually on to Italy visiting Genoa, Florence, Siena and Rome where he spent some months. In January, 1825, he was in Naples and visited Pompeii before going on to Salerno, the most southerly point in his itinerary. The return journey included the Italian Lakes, Switzerland and the Rhine.............To those whose knowledge of Giles' work is limited to his paintings of the Scottish countryside and its wild life, or to his recordings of its castellated buildings, the Italian sketches made between the years 1824 and 1825 will come as a new and thrilling experience. Many will have to reassess his merits not only as an artist but as a designer in many spheres." Olga Ferguson in her catalogue for the exhibition Aspects of Landscape: A Bicentenary Celebration of James Giles RSA, Aberdeen Art Gallery (2001-02-03 to 2001-03-17) (pp.3-9) addresses Giles' period in Italy and details "the route through Europe" on p.3: "From Paris, he journeyed into the warm Mediterranean light of the south of France. .....Giles must have planned his itinerary carefully, choosing a route by sea from Nice to Genoa, rather than the more arduous crossing of the Alps to gain access to Italy. This allowed him to explore the towns of France, while his return route took him to Switzerland and the Rhineland and back to paris. With the exception of his exploration of Umbria, whilst in Italy, Giles trod the established Grand Tour path, sketching in Florence, Rome and its campagna, Tivoli, Pompeii and Naples. Salerno was the most southerly point of his tour and he returned north by way of Venice." In 1992 Aberdeen Art Gallery received a number of Giles' watercolours from this period through the bequest of John Sparrow, OBE and again in 1995 through the bequest of the artist's grand-daughter Miss Mary herdman. The sketchbook of his copies after Old Masters along with one of Italian subjects (1824-25) at 2001 were in the possession of the artist's great grand son Mr T.A.S.Macpherson. Copies of the above book and two exhibition catalogues are held in the RSA Library.