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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > European River and Lowland Scenes > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Town on a Rocky Plateau with a River and a Cave c.1824

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Town on a Rocky Plateau with a River and a Cave’ c.1824
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Town on a Rocky Plateau with a River and a Cave c.1824
D20358
Turner Bequest CCXXIV 63
Pencil on blue wove paper, 150 x 194 mm
Stamped in black ‘CCXXIV 63’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
In this dramatic sketch of a town situated at the top of a rocky plateau, the buildings appear to hang on the very edge of the rock face, along which can be seen the trace of a steep path. At the bottom of the valley are trees and an arched bridge indicating the course of a river. Opposite the town is another steep and rugged hillside; a dark patch in the rocks of this hill suggests perhaps the entrance to a cave.
For the grouping and dating of these works, see the section Introduction.
Technical notes:
Two pink marks appear towards the bottom left of the sheet.
Verso:
Blank except for inscriptions. Inscribed in ink ‘63’ and ‘231 | O’ bottom right.

Ben Pollitt
August 2019

How to cite

Ben Pollitt, ‘Town on a Rocky Plateau with a River and a Cave c.1824 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, August 2019, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, March 2023, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-town-on-a-rocky-plateau-with-a-river-and-a-cave-r1202110, accessed 09 May 2024.