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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > Wales 1798 > Hereford Court Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Ludlow Castle from the North-East 1798

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ludlow Castle from the North-East’ 1798
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 97 Recto:
Ludlow Castle from the North-East 1798
D01317
Turner Bequest XXXVIII 63
Pencil on white wove paper, 229 x 332 mm
Watermark ‘1794 | J Whatman’
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom centre
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘63’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘XXXVIII 63’ bottom left, descending vertically
The parish church is visible to the left of this panoramic view, and the bridge over the River Teme, which figures prominently in the drawing of Ludlow on folio 96 recto (D01261; Turner Bequest XXXVIII 11a), appears to the far right here. A large colour study of this subject is Tate D01911 (Turner Bequest XLIV i); Turner presumably made it with a finished watercolour in mind, responding to the commission from the Earl of Essex recorded on the verso.
That work does not seem to have been realised, but Turner had recourse to his sketch again when devising subjects for the Picturesque Views in England and Wales, and a finished watercolour for that series, executed in about 1829 (private collection), was engraved in 1831 (Tate impressions: T04568, T04569). Another drawing of the castle, on folio 96 recto (D01261; Turner Bequest XXXVIII 11a), was used for two watercolours executed shortly after his visit, as recorded in that entry. A view of the Weir Bridge at Ludlow is on folio 98 recto (D01343; Turner Bequest XXXVIII 89).
Verso:
Blank; inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘L Essex Essex’ and ‘Earl of Essex’; smears of blue colour; stamped in brown ink with Turner Bequest monogram.

Andrew Wilton
May 2013

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘Ludlow Castle from the North-East 1798 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, May 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, April 2015, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-ludlow-castle-from-the-north-east-r1173237, accessed 25 April 2024.