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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > Wales and Isle of Wight 1795-1800 > Smaller South Wales Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Neath: The Ruined West Front of the Abbey Church 1795

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Neath: The Ruined West Front of the Abbey Church’ 1795
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 16 Recto:
Neath: The Ruined West Front of the Abbey Church 1795
D00477
Turner Bequest XXV 16
Pencil on white wove paper, 205 x 130 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘16’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘XXV 16’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The Abbey at Neath was a Cistercian (originally Savignac) foundation of the twelfth century. After the Dissolution in the sixteenth century part of the cloisters was converted into a grand residence by Sir Richard Williams. By the eighteenth century the whole complex had become an impressive ruin, part of which was used for copper smelting and casting.
A ‘Monro School’ drawing of part of the ruins of Neath Abbey, ascribed to Turner but possibly by Edward Dayes (1763–1804), is cited by Jenkins;1 it was offered at Christie’s, London, 21 November 2002 (43, reproduced in colour).
Turner’s drawing was made with the page turned vertically.
1
Jenkins 1975, pp.68–9.
Verso:
Blank; stamped in brown ink with Turner Bequest monogram.

Andrew Wilton
April 2012

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘Neath: The Ruined West Front of the Abbey Church 1795 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 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-neath-the-ruined-west-front-of-the-abbey-church-r1140796, accessed 24 April 2024.