A superb early aquatint of St. Martins Le Grand with the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral dominating the skyline. It is from a painting by the notable artist Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) painted circa 1795. He is described by Russell as a ‘brilliant watercolourist’ who died whilst still in his twenties. This sepia aquatint is engraved by John Baily of Westminster and published by James Girtin of unidentified relationship to Thomas. The original painting is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York who describe the painting thus: “Thomas Girtin, who ranks among the finest European landscape painters of the Romantic era, and the most accomplished British watercolorists of any period, painted this watercolor when he was about twenty, working directly from the view that lay outside his mother’s front door. By combining vibrant details with loose passages of generalized brushwork, Girtin captures the bustle of an eighteenth-century London Street.” Mackenzie, Ian. (1998). ‘British Prints’; Russell, Ronald. (1979). ‘Guide to British Topographical Prints’.