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

There are three bands of related sketches, each showing aspects of the chalk cliffs around Dover,1 seen from the sea. At the top, the viewpoint is uncertain, but may be west of the town (towards Folkestone), with the defences on the Western Heights in the distance on the right and Dover Harbour out of sight beyond; compare that end to the left-hand section of the central view on folio 3 recto opposite (D19405).

Across the middle are profiles of the cliffs towards the South Foreland, east of the town. They are shown on a smaller scale in the right-hand third of the lower drawing, with Dover Castle above to the left; in turn, the adjacent drawing on the opposite page is a larger variant of the right-hand half. Compare the closer views of the castle on the recto and folios 4 recto and 7 recto (D19403, D19407, D19413). The undulating cliffs beyond it are seen in the distance in a watercolour (currently untraced)2 engraved in 1826 for the Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England as Dover from Shakespeare’s Cliff (Tate impressions: T04424, T05246–T05251, T06000); see under Tate D18843 (Turner Bequest CCXIV 2) in the contemporary Holland sketchbook.

There are more views from the sea on folio 5 verso (D19410). For others around Dover in this sketchbook and elsewhere, see under folio 1 recto (D19401).