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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Folkestone and the Medway c.1821-2 > Medway Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner The River Medway at Rochester c.1821

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The River Medway at Rochester’ c.1821
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 28 Recto:
The River Medway at Rochester c.1821
D17411
Turner Bequest CXCIX 28
Pencil on white wove paper, 112 x 190 mm
Partial watermark ‘nard | 20’
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘[?Basin] of land’ towards bottom left
Stamped in black ‘CXCIX – 28’ bottom left
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Across this and the facing page on folio 27 verso (D17410), Turner produces a panoramic view of Rochester from a position on the northern bank of the River Medway, near Strood. Demonstrating a keen interest in recording the breadth of the landscape as well as its evocative details, the result is a neatly realised and elaborate composition.
The present page is concerned with the western half of the view, with the town of Rochester towards the east on the facing folio. Here, a final sliver of the Bridge is evident at far left, a watershed landmark separating bustling industry from quiet, rural reflection. The riverbanks begin as flat plains. From there, the topography ascends. As it does so, Turner’s handling transforms from tightly controlled at far left to gestural freedom at right.
For more information about Turner’s ongoing relationship with Rochester, and how and where he described it in the pages of this sketchbook, see the entry for folio 18 recto (D17394).
Verso:
Blank

Maud Whatley
January 2016

How to cite

Maud Whatley, ‘The River Medway at Rochester c.1821 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, January 2016, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, February 2017, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-the-river-medway-at-rochester-r1184688, accessed 25 April 2024.