Joseph Mallord William Turner

With the sketchbook turned horizontally, Turner filled this page a westerly view of the eleventh-century castle at Gisors, located some twenty-five miles east of the Seine as it flows past Les Andelys. Arrayed upon a diagonal axis from the top left-hand corner down to the bottom right can be seen the tall donjon on its high mound, the Tour du Gouverneur, and finally the Tour du Prisonnier to which it is connected by a rampart.

Gisors and its ancient stronghold were the subject of particular study in this sketchbook. For a list of associated sketches in the volume, see the entry for folio 41 verso (D23962; Turner Bequest CCLIV 41a). For a slightly later watercolour study of the town’s landmarks in the Turner Bequest, see Tate D20265 (Turner Bequest CCXXII F).