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

Drawn with the book held in different orientations are two sketches of the Bracklinn Falls on the hillside to the north-east of Callander. The first sketch at the outer edge of the page, drawn with the book turned to the left, concentrates on one of the shelves of rock over which the Keltie Water plunges, with rocks and a pool of water (or ‘linn’) in the foreground. With the book held horizontally, but inverted from the usual format, is a sketch that shows the steep sides of the rock gorge through which the water flows. A dark vertical shape at the left may be a tree, or perhaps a figure, added to give a sense of scale as in folio 10 (D26735; CCLXXII 36a). An inscription by Turner may say ‘West’, indicating the direction of the view. Turner treated folio 12 (D26733; CCLXXII 35a) in a similar way for two further sketches of the falls in two orientations.

Turner made these on a visit to the falls from Callander; see folio 33 (D26741; CCLXXII 39a) for references.