Place St. Barthélemy, Rouen

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Artist: David Cox (British, 1783–1859)
Medium: Watercolor and graphite on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Size: Sheet: 10 3/8 x 8 1/2 inches (26.4 x 21.6 cm)
Museum: Yale Center for British Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

The drawing inscribed “Place S Barthelmi,” previously identified as a Parisian view, would seem to show the Place St. Barthélemy in Rouen. According to his biographer Nathaniel Neal Solly, Cox and his son walked from Amiens to Beauvais, stopping there for three days. They then took the diligence (coach) to Paris. This drawing, together with that of the Gros Horloge (cat. 41) indicates that they either made a detour to Rouen on the way to Paris—the route from Calais to Amiens to Beauvais to Paris would be quite direct—or that they returned from Paris by a different route, which took them through Rouen.

Text: Yale Center for British Art.