Joseph Mallord William Turner

Bass Rock

1818

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Not on display

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Bass Rock and Edinburgh Sketchbook
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 99 × 159 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D13355
Turner Bequest CLXV 18

Catalogue entry

This sketch probably shows the Bass Rock as seen from the east with its natural, if dangerous, harbour to the south. Here Turner placed more emphasis on the geological features of the subject than in other versions, showing the vertical striations on the sides of the rock and the grassy patch at the top that Walter Scott mentions in his Provincial Antiquities description.1 There are numerous sketches of the Bass Rock from various angles in this sketchbook.

Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland with descriptions by Sir Walter Scott, Bart., Vol.II, London and Edinburgh, 1826, p.[181].

Verso:

Blank

Thomas Ardill
October 2007

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