Joseph Mallord William Turner

The viewpoint is the western flank of the castle’s mound, looking south-east to the village – the only sketch from within the wards of the castle. There is a more distant view of this side of the castle and village from West Hill, on folios 1 verso–2 recto (D08808, D08809). For the various other drawings of Corfe Castle, see the entry for folio 17 recto (D08826).

Technical notes:

As on folio 8 recto (D08815), the line drawing has been reinforced by rough brown washes, restricted largely to the castle and hillside. A darker area of wash has been worked in while the first was still wet, and finer strokes indicate vegetation in the foreground. A small patch of green on the right presumably signifies foliage. The paper is browned from prolonged display, while the pigments have faded. The edges formerly protected by a display mount are bright where the paper is bare, and the watercolour retains its original strength along the bottom edge.

Verso:

Blank, save for inscriptions by John Ruskin in red ink ‘42’ top right and ‘638’ bottom left. There is some watercolour offsetting from the opposite page (D08815; CXXIV 8).