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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Scotland 1818-20 > Bass Rock and Edinburgh Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Ruins of a Castle 1818

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ruins of a Castle’ 1818
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 15 Recto:
Ruins of a Castle 1818
D13349
Turner Bequest CLXV 15
Pencil on white laid paper, 159 x 99 mm
Stamped in black ‘CLXV 15’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Drawn with the book turned to the left, these two views of the ruins of a tower or castle do not seem to depict any of the buildings listed for Scott’s Provincial Antiquities. However it is likely that this building is located either somewhere near the East Lothian coast between St Abbs and North Berwick, or within a day’s return trip from Edinburgh. The drawing at the top of the page depicts the ruin within a hilly landscape, and the drawing at the bottom is taken from closer to and has no topographical setting.

Thomas Ardill
October 2007

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Ruins of a Castle 1818 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, October 2007, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-ruins-of-a-castle-r1131891, accessed 21 November 2024.