Joseph Mallord William Turner

Turner used this drawing as the basis for the finished watercolour he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1797 under the title Trancept of Ewenny Priory, Glamorganshire (National Museum Wales, Cardiff).1 Finberg notes a further version of the subject as a copy of the Cardiff picture by another hand. The building is almost all that survives of a Benedictine monastery founded in the mid-twelfth century by William de Londres. Given the dramatic force with which Turner invested his watercolour, and the vividly realised details of the architecture, this sketch is surprisingly slight.

The figure noted in the top right corner of the sheet is that of the effigy on the tomb under the right-hand arch, which is thought to commemorate Maurice de Londres, son of the founder, though it has also been identified as Sir Paganus de Turbeville, of Coity Castle nearby.

Verso:

Blank; stamped in brown ink with Turner Bequest monogram.