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

With the page turned vertically, the upper (outer) half comprises three coastal views near Boulogne.1 At the top, the lost telegraph tower at the end of the harbour’s western pier is shown from the south-west (as in various closer views, including folio 14 recto; D19424), with cliffs along the Channel coast to the north beyond, where the small, dark rectangle indicated the lost Fort de la Crèche, as also seen on the other page. The harbour was later substantially extended into the sea.

The second view appears to be separate, with low hills and small buildings, perhaps with Boulogne itself in the distance. The setting may be Le Portel, about two miles from the harbour mouth, as the last view shows the nearby cliffs, looking south-west to La Crèche’s counterpart, Fort de l’Heurt, which survives as a precarious ruin on offshore rocks. It is studied in detail on folio 16 verso (D19428), and a wider view of the adjacent coast appears on folio 19 recto (D19433). For other views in and around Boulogne, see under folio 8 verso (D19416).