Turner had visited Ivy Bridge, near Plymouth, in 1811. He returned two
years later, when he made the sketches that were used as the basis for this . He was visiting Devon because he had been commissioned
to take views for a series of called Views on the Southern Coast of England.
This study seems remarkably naturalistic. However, a poem Turner wrote about his journey made it clear that for him the scenery evoked patriotic reflections
on morality and history.
Gallery label, August 2004
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