Girtin, Thomas (1775-1802), English watercolorist, whose technical and artistic innovations gave birth to the distinctive English romantic manner in watercolor. His early works follow the 18th-century style of line drawings tinted with monochromatic washes. His mature works, however, particularly White House at Chelsea (1800, Tate Gallery, London), are freer and more intense, using strong colors unencumbered by linear outlines. They convey a unique sense of the sweep and scale of the English countryside. Their naturalistic style and sensitivity to mood prepared the way for the full-scale romanticism of artists such as his contemporary J. M. W. Turner and Richard Bonington.