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

A pair with the facing page on folio 11 verso (D17383), this sheet of drawings describes vessels on the Medway, as identified by Finberg.1 It is comprised of five individual views, one of which is rendered with the sketchbook turned vertically.

With the page oriented horizontally according to the foliation of the sketchbook, Turner records four river scenes. As with the facing page, John Gage identifies this sheet as representing views near Sheerness, a town situated at the mouth of the River Medway on the north-western corner of the Isle of Sheppey in North Kent.2 The topmost of these describes two vessels in open water. Behind them, in the distance, two landforms occupy the horizon. At left, the land is adorned with a cross, formed by two simple, intersecting lines. This seems to denote a windmill. The second view from the top continues from a small section on the facing page, describing a panorama with boats in the immediate foreground at left, and a distant town, again punctuated by a mill, on the distant shore. These two sketches seem to describe the views of Sheerness noted by Gage.

Further down the sheet, two brief drawings record views of Upnor Castle, a landmark explored a number of times in this sketchbook. For a comprehensive list of those instances, see the entry for folio 87 verso (D17501). The lower of the two examples on this sheet demonstrates an overview of the Castle set amongst undulating hills, next to the river. Above this, Turner hones in somewhat more closely on the configuration of the architecture itself.

With the page turned vertically, Turner makes a final drawing of boats alongside a harbour, shown at right. The prospect is cluttered and evocative of busy industry. The pages either side of the current sheet, on folio 11 verso and 12 verso (D17383 and D17385) also illustrate views of Sheerness, a theme which Turner does not appear to pursue again until the end of the sketchbook, on folios 86 verso and 90 verso (D17499 and D17507). For an indication of the prevalence of Sheerness within Turner’s oeuvre more generally, refer to the entry for folio 12 verso (D17385).