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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Sandycombe Lodge c.1808-12 > Windmill and Lock Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Gothic Archway c.1808-11

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Gothic Archway’ c.1808-11
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 44 Verso:
A Gothic Archway circa 1808–11
D08016
Turner Bequest CXIV 44a
Pencil on white wove paper, 87 x 117 mm
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
As Finberg suggests, the arch is probably an entrance to a medieval church, or possibly a secular building of that period. It is presently unidentified, but may be a London subject, like others in this sketchbook. Turner has emphasised the profile of the mouldings at the apex, something he often did as a short cut in early, elaborate architectural studies such as his view of Melrose Abbey in the 1797 Tweed and Lakes sketchbook (Tate D40551; Turner Bequest XXXV 17). The same effect is seen in the study of the Monument, London, on folio 34 recto (D08005).

Matthew Imms
January 2012

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A Gothic Archway c.1808–11 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, January 2012, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-gothic-archway-r1134795, accessed 22 September 2024.