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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and French ... > Holland Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Boat Moored on the River Amstel in Amsterdam at the Entrance to the Kloveniersburgwal Canal, with the Spire of the Zuiderkerk and the Waag Gatehouse in the Distance; the Singel Canal near the Munttoren 1825

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Boat Moored on the River Amstel in Amsterdam at the Entrance to the Kloveniersburgwal Canal, with the Spire of the Zuiderkerk and the Waag Gatehouse in the Distance; the Singel Canal near the Munttoren’ 1825
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 100 Recto:
A Boat Moored on the River Amstel in Amsterdam at the Entrance to the Kloveniersburgwal Canal, with the Spire of the Zuiderkerk and the Waag Gatehouse in the Distance; the Singel Canal near the Munttoren 1825
D19037
Turner Bequest CCXIV 100
Pencil on white wove paper, 95 x 155 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘[D...] Dome Col’ towards top left, ascending diagonally, and ‘Amstel’ bottom left
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘100’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCXIV – 100’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turned horizontally, the page shows the Binnen Amstel reach of the River Amstel in Amsterdam, as noted by Turner. The viewpoint is its southern quay, looking north-north-east to the entrance of the Kloveniersburgwal canal on the left, with the pointed turrets of the Waag gatehouse (seen from the north on the verso; D19038) in the distance, beyond an elevating ophaalbrug-type bridge where the later Aluminiumbrug now crosses.
To the right is the Halvemannsbrug, at that time including an elevating section; the lightly outlined spire over that side belongs to the Zuiderkerk (now an events venue). The most detailed section is towards the left, with the Doelenhotel and the steep roof of the medieval Swijgh Utrecht tower. A hotel now stands on the site, but the buildings are seen in the 1775 painting De Kloveniersdoelen aan de Amstel by Jan Ekels the elder (Amsterdam Museum).
At right-angles at the top right is a continuation from a view of the Munttoren along the Singel canal on folio 99 verso opposite (D19036); turning left from the main viewpoint here, the tower would have been within sight just to the west, although it is seen from the opposite direction on the other page. See under folio 81 recto (D18999) for other views in and around the city in this book and elsewhere.

Matthew Imms and Quirine van der Meer Mohr
September 2020

How to cite

Matthew Imms and Quirine van der Meer Mohr, ‘A Boat Moored on the River Amstel in Amsterdam at the Entrance to the Kloveniersburgwal Canal, with the Spire of the Zuiderkerk and the Waag Gatehouse in the Distance; the Singel Canal near the Munttoren 1825 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2020, 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-a-boat-moored-on-the-river-amstel-in-amsterdam-at-the-r1202389, accessed 26 April 2025.