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

Here Edinburgh Castle is seen from close by to the north, perhaps from Princes Street, if not from the drained Nor Loch that would, in the 1820s, become Princes Street Gardens. On the left is part of the Castle Esplanade, with the Gate House above it, the curtain wall can be seen running down the rock, the Forewell Battery is above and on the right is the Portcullis Gate. Seen from so close, much of the picture is taken up with the huge Castle Rock upon which the castle sits, rather than the castle itself. Turner uses hatching to shows shadows on the rock and indicate its craggy appearance.