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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Scotland 1831 > Inverness Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Ruins of Elgin Cathedral from the South-West 1831

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ruins of Elgin Cathedral from the South-West’ 1831
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 140 Recto:
Ruins of Elgin Cathedral from the South-West 1831
D27217
Turner Bequest CCLXXVII 140
Pencil on off-white wove paper, 163 x 104 mm
Inscribed in red ink by John Ruskin ‘140’ top left inverted
Stamped in black ‘CCLXXVII 140’ top left inverted
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Continuing on folio 139 verso (D27216) is a sketch of the southern side of Elgin Cathedral as seen from the south-west corner. This half of the sketch shows the south tower at the west end of the cathedral, one of two towers that flank the west door. See folio 139 (D27015) for references to further sketches of the cathedral.
At the bottom left of the sketch, drawn with the sketchbook inverted, is a quick sketch of a well-dressed lady wearing a bonnet. It is not known whether this was someone that Turner met while travelling in Scotland, just someone he saw on his travels, or even an invented figure.
Verso:
Blank

Thomas Ardill
May 2010

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Ruins of Elgin Cathedral from the South-West 1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, May 2010, 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-elgin-cathedral-from-the-south-west-r1135583, accessed 30 June 2024.