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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Scotland 1834 > Stirling and Edinburgh Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Falls of Clyde: Bonnington Linn 1834

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Falls of Clyde: Bonnington Linn’ 1834
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 11 Recto:
Falls of Clyde: Bonnington Linn 1834
D26279
Turner Bequest CCLXIX 11
Pencil on off-white wove paper, 113 x 190 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘W’ upper centre right ‘n’ centre right ‘v’ lower centre right
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘11’ top right and ‘340’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCLXIX 11’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner seems to have descended into the gorge and crossed to the south side of the water to make this sketch of the River Clyde from beneath Bonnington Linn. Looking up a sheer rock face at the right Turner has labelled different parts of it ‘w’, ‘n’ and ‘v’. ‘w’ is likely to stand for water, and may indicate the waterfall; ‘v’ may stand for water vapour, caused by the torrent of water splashing below. The meaning of ‘n’ has not been deciphered.
For further sketches of the Falls of Clyde see folio 1 verso (D26260).

Thomas Ardill
February 2011

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Falls of Clyde: Bonnington Linn 1834 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, February 2011, 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-falls-of-clyde-bonnington-linn-r1136209, accessed 18 April 2024.