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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Scotland 1831 > Fort Augustus Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Urquhart Castle from the South 1831

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Urquhart Castle from the South’ 1831
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 14 Recto:
Urquhart Castle from the South 1831
D26988
Turner Bequest CCLXXVI 14
Pencil on off-white laid writing paper, 150 x 180 mm irregular
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘Urquhart’ lower left
Inscribed in red ink by John Ruskin ‘14’ top left running vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCLXXVI 14’ top right running vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
These four sketches of Urquhart Castle, seen from the south, were made as Turner approached the ruin while steaming north up Loch Ness. With the sketchbook turned to the left are two views up the loch with the castle standing on an outcrop beneath Creag na h-Lolaire. Both sketches show the same view, though the second – inscribed ‘Urquhart’ at the left – brings us closer to the castle.
With the sketchbook inverted are two studies of the castle ruins. The first, on the left, is from the south, while the sketch to the right is from a more easterly vantage point. Both sketches centre on the gabled tower house with the gatehouse to the left.
For further sketches of the castle see folio 19 (D26998).

Thomas Ardill
April 2010

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Urquhart Castle from the South 1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 2010, 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-urquhart-castle-from-the-south-r1135353, accessed 26 April 2024.