View of the South End, Hull, Taken in the Year 1809
Barton had a duel career as an artist/manager of panoramas (large canvases, sometimes placed within a circular building to surround the viewer) and in the last few years of his life as a marine painter in Hull. Like the Dutch before him he combined nautical skill with perfectly painted architecture. Characteristic of his style are low viewpoints and a curious elongation of figures. It is possible that these two paintings were connected with a scheme for a panorama. Barton certainly appears to have been experimenting with the perspective. The Old Harbour, seen in both works, was the sheltered stretch of water between the present-day North Bridge and the mouth of the River Hull, an area also known as âthe Havenâ. It formed Hullâs main mooring point until the completion of the first dock in 1778. The jumble of sails in View of the South End (misleadingly labelled âthe Citadelâ on the frame) illustrates the congestion at the river mouth as trade developed. Also visible are soldiers lounging near the Old Blockhouse (Citadel) on the east side of the river.
