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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8

Joseph Mallord William Turner Lichfield Cathedral from the North-East 1830

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 51 Recto:
Lichfield Cathedral from the North-East 1830
D22069
Turner Bequest CCXXXVIII 51
Pencil on white wove paper, 120 x 203 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in blue ink ‘51’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXVIII – 51’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner’s viewpoint for this slight sketch is the Close north-east of Lichfield Cathedral, looking along the north side to the chapter house and transept. He may have been moving around to obtain a satisfactory view, and finding difficulty in the juxtapositions of the roofline. Beyond the central crossing spire there are at first glance three more lightly indicated at the west end, where in reality there are only two, the central, phantom spire having been crossed out.
There is almost a mirror image of this sketch on the verso (D22070), where the building is seen from the south-east. For other views of Lichfield, see under folio 50 verso opposite (D22068).

Matthew Imms
August 2013

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Lichfield Cathedral from the North-East 1830 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, August 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-lichfield-cathedral-from-the-north-east-r1148710, accessed 28 March 2024.