Tour de Remy, Dieppe - Thomas Shotter Boys

A detailed 1839 lithograph by Thomas Shotter Boys depicting the Tour de Remy in Dieppe, capturing the architectural character and daily life of the French town.

This lithograph originates from the collection titled Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen, Etc., published in 1839. Thomas Shotter Boys, a trained engraver and watercolourist, utilised the medium of chromolithography to capture the atmospheric qualities of European urban centres. His work documents the architectural character of Dieppe, specifically the Tour de Remy, with a precision that balances technical accuracy with a sense of daily life.

The composition employs a vertical perspective, drawing the eye from the foreground figures towards the elevated stone tower. Boys populates the street scene with local inhabitants, including a pair of men carrying a wooden barrow, which provides a sense of scale against the imposing masonry. The play of light across the building facades suggests a clear, bright day, typical of the artist's interest in natural illumination. The colour palette remains restrained, relying on soft ochre, grey, and muted earth tones to define the stone structures and the cobblestone path.

Boys was a contemporary of Richard Parkes Bonington and spent significant time in France, which informed his approach to topographical subjects. Unlike many of his peers who focused on grand monuments, Boys often turned his attention to the vernacular architecture of the street. This print demonstrates his ability to render texture, from the weathered stone of the tower to the fabric of the clothing worn by the figures in the foreground. The work functions as a historical record of mid-nineteenth-century French urban life, preserved through the medium of high-quality lithography. It offers a view into a period where travel and the documentation of foreign architecture became a popular pursuit for the British public.