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

These sketches have not been firmly identified as they do not appear to be associated with Turner’s visit to Edinburgh in 1822. Instead, they were probably made before the visit when Turner used the first few pages of the sketchbook (now considered to be at the end of the book) for various rough sketches and composition studies. The top sketch, made with the sketchbook turned to the right, bears a slight resemblance to a view of Fulham Bridge made in the Paris, Seine and Dieppe sketchbook (Tate D18528; Turner Bequest CCXI 2a), although the present view looks along the banks and not over the terrace to the river and bridge. Beyond this compositional similarity of a view along a road with poplars at the left and a building on the right, however, there is no further evidence for this identification. The lower sketch is less distinct, though it may look across a river with trees either side, and is presumably of a nearby spot.