Perth, Abernathy Round Tower

In the 1790s, Girtin was employed by the antiquarian James Moore to make finished watercolors based on Moore’s pencil drawings of historic structures, like the Abernethy Tower. This watercolor is calculated to appeal to the taste for the picturesque, which favored age, roughness, and variety. While the tower was actually well-preserved, Girtin depicts it as a ruin, with stones projecting irregularly, and a summit crumbling away beneath grass and lichen. He creates a contrast in textures, using small, light touches to evoke the softness of the vegetation, while broader strokes mimic the shadows and protrusions of the rough stone blocks (2022).