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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8

Joseph Mallord William Turner Doune Castle and Teith Bridge from the West 1834

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 64 Recto:
Doune Castle and Teith Bridge from the West 1834
D26380
Turner Bequest CCLXIX 64
Pencil on off-white wove paper, 190 x 113 mm
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘64’ top left running vertically and ‘340’ top right running vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCLXIX 64’ top right running vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
These are the last two sketches that Turner made of Doune Castle as he was departing to the west. Drawn with the sketchbook turned to the left, both sketches depict the castle and the Teith Bridge which crosses the River Teith at the village of Doune to the west of the castle. Having approached the castle from Dunblane to the west, Turner circuited the castle and studied it from every direction before continuing west on his journey towards Callander; see folio 52 verso (D26358) for references to further sketches. A sketch of the castle on folio 63 verso (D26379) was probably made from the bridge.
The sketch at the top of the page was made from just west of Teith Bridge and depicts the main structure of the castle as well as the heavily wooded riverbank and Dunyat Hill beyond. The sketch beneath was made from a little further off where the river starts to turn to the north. The relative positions of the castle, bridge and hill have therefore shifted slightly and there is more emphasis on the river bank in the foreground. A two-word inscription at the bottom of the page has not been fully deciphered, though the first word appears to say ‘Don’, which may be Turner’s attempt to write ‘Doune’.

Thomas Ardill
November 2010

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Doune Castle and Teith Bridge from the West 1834 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, November 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-doune-castle-and-teith-bridge-from-the-west-r1136310, accessed 19 September 2024.