Joseph Mallord William Turner

Ruins of Elgin Cathedral from the North-West

1831

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Not on display

Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Inverness Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 104 × 163 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D27208
Turner Bequest CCLXXVII 134 a

Catalogue entry

Elgin Cathedral is seen here from the north-west. This could be seen as the counterpart to the sketch on folio 139 (D27215), which shows the cathedral from the south-east and therefore includes most of what cannot be shown in the present sketch.
At the right are the two towers at the western end of the cathedral, and at the left is the octagonal chapter house. Although the sketch was fairly rapidly executed, Turner has taken care to make architectural details (such as arches and windows) clear, and taken together with sketches like folio 134 (D27207) it is possible to build up a mental picture of the whole cathedral in detail.
For references to all of Turner’s sketches of the cathedral, see folio 139.

Thomas Ardill
May 2010

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