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 Elevation of the Pedestal of the Monument, London c.1808-11

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Elevation of the Pedestal of the Monument, London’ c.1808-11
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 63 Recto:
Elevation of the Pedestal of the Monument, London circa 1808–11
D08041
Turner Bequest CXIV 63
Pencil on white wove paper, 117 x 87 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil (see main catalogue entry)
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘63’ top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXIV – 63’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Maurice Davies relates the studies of the Monument, London, on folios 12 verso–13 recto, 17 recto, 19 verso, 20 recto, 31 recto and 34 recto (D07977, D07978, D07985, D07988, D07989, D08002, D08005) to Turner’s first perspective lecture, delivered at the Royal Academy in January 1811 (see the Introduction to the sketchbook); in addition, folio 33 verso (D41526) is a slight continuation from folio 34 recto, and the present sketch shows the elevation of its pedestal or plinth, with a partial outline of the carvings around the base of the column above. For further details of the structure see under folio 12 verso (D07977).
Turner has inscribed various figures in pencil: ‘2’ and ‘3’ above and below the left side of the pedestal, and ‘26’ below it; and ‘15 yard to the [?c...] of [?y...] | 10 Capital | 15 base’ below the elevation. The pedestal is actually about 28 feet square at its broadest, with the shaft of the column around 15 feet in diameter1 (about 8.5 and 4.5 metres respectively).

Matthew Imms
January 2012

1
See ‘Construction’, The Monument, accessed 29 September 2011, http://www.themonument.info/history/construction.asp.

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Elevation of the Pedestal of the Monument, London 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-elevation-of-the-pedestal-of-the-monument-london-r1134820, accessed 22 September 2024.