Joseph Mallord William Turner

The Château de Dieppe from the Beach, with the Town Beyond; Channel Cliffs; a Distant Town

1845

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Dieppe and Kent Sketchbook
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 86 × 111 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D35544
Turner Bequest CCCLXI 32 a

Catalogue entry

At the centre right is a view of the town of Dieppe in the distance to the north-east, continuing from the full-page view from below the castle on folio 33 recto opposite (D35545). The square tower and dome near the gutter mark the church of Saint-Jacques, towards the harbour. For other views of Dieppe see under folio 31 recto (D35541).

There are heavily shaded cliffs at the top left, and a view of an unidentified townscape at the bottom, inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, above which Turner has written what appears to be a place name, although its significance in relation to the Normandy area is unclear. See the sketchbook’s Introduction for the many slight coastal views and studies of as yet unidentified settlements scattered through it.

Technical notes:

There is some brown staining at the gutter, possibly indicating water damage in the 1928 Tate flood.

Matthew Imms
September 2016

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