J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Margate, London and Surrey c.1829-45 > Kent Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Church Spire and a Clock Tower among Wooded Hills, Probably in Kent c.1830

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Church Spire and a Clock Tower among Wooded Hills, Probably in Kent’ c.1830
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 13 Recto:
A Church Spire and a Clock Tower among Wooded Hills, Probably in Kent c.1830
D35781
Turner Bequest CCCLXIII 13
Pencil on white wove paper, 76 x 98 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘[?Solid Gl]’ above left of centre and ‘H[...]’ towards bottom centre
Inscribed in red ink by John Ruskin ‘13’ top left, upside down
Stamped in black ‘CCCLXIII – 13’ top left, upside down
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, the church with a slender spire rising above wooded hills is unidentified, but is likely in Kent given the identified subjects elsewhere in this sketchbook; see the Introduction. The same building appears to be shown in the distance on folio 12 verso opposite (D35780), and see also folio 14 recto (D35783).
Below is what appears to be a clock tower, possibly with a cupola in Baroque style. Its relationship with the church is unclear, but it and its surroundings may form a separate study, representing a continuation to the left or right of the upper section, or a separate view nearby.
Compare what may be another view of the same location on folios 22 verso–23 recto (D35796, D35798; Turner Bequest CCCLXIII 21–22).

Matthew Imms
September 2016

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A Church Spire and a Clock Tower among Wooded Hills, Probably in Kent c.1830 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2016, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2016, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-church-spire-and-a-clock-tower-among-wooded-hills-probably-r1183744, accessed 20 May 2024.