Joseph Mallord William Turner

Tintern Abbey: The Crossing and Chancel, Looking towards the East Window

1794

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

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Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Watercolours and Studies Relating to the Welsh and Marches Tours
Medium
Graphite and watercolour on paper
Dimensions
Support: 359 x 250 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D00374
Turner Bequest XXIII A

Display caption

In the 1790s Turner made a series of tours throughout Britain. He was looking for Picturesque and historical subjects for watercolours that he intended to sell or show in exhibitions.

Turner had sketched Tintern Abbey, in South Wales, on a tour in 1792. The area was one of the most visited tourist spots in Britain. William Wordsworth also visited the area in these years. His poem, Tintern Abbey (1798) revealed the complex historical, political and emotional associations the ruin had for people at the time.  

Gallery label, August 2004

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Catalogue entry

This view is derived from the pencil drawing made on the spot (Tate D00134; Turner Bequest XII E). Although apparently a completed work, a small area of reserved paper lower centre indicates that this is not in fact finished. It is a study for the watercolour exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1794 (402), now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (1683–1871).1
A similar view looking into the transept is in the Lloyd Bequest, British Museum, London (1958–7–12–400).2 A variant is in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford,3 and the composition is repeated in several views of the ruins by other artists, notably by Edward Dayes (1763–1804).
1
Andrew Wilton, J.M.W. Turner: His Life and Work, Fribourg 1979, p.307 no.57, reproduced.
2
Ibid., p.307 no.59, reproduced; see also Kim Sloan, J.M.W.Turner: Watercolours from the R.W. Lloyd Bequest to the British Museum, London 1998, p.40 no.3, reproduced in colour p.[41].
3
Wilton 1979, p.307 no.58, reproduced.
Verso:
Blank

Andrew Wilton
April 2012

Read full Catalogue entry

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Left Right
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Tintern Abbey: The Chancel and East Window with the Crossing, Seen from the Ruined Nave’ 1792

Joseph Mallord William Turner Tintern Abbey: The Chancel and East Window with the Crossing, Seen from the Ruined Nave

1792
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Transept of Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire’ ?exhibited 1795

Joseph Mallord William Turner Transept of Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire

?exhibited 1795
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Tintern Abbey, West Front’ c.1794

Joseph Mallord William Turner Tintern Abbey, West Front

c.1794
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Tintern Abbey: The West Front’ 1792

Joseph Mallord William Turner Tintern Abbey: The West Front

1792
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Part of the Ruins of Tintern Abbey’ 1792

Joseph Mallord William Turner Part of the Ruins of Tintern Abbey

1792
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Tintern Abbey: The Transept’ c.1794

Joseph Mallord William Turner Tintern Abbey: The Transept

c.1794
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Tintern: The Abbey and Village Looking Downstream’ 1798

Joseph Mallord William Turner Tintern: The Abbey and Village Looking Downstream

1798
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘General View of the Ruins of Tintern Abbey from the South’ 1792

Joseph Mallord William Turner General View of the Ruins of Tintern Abbey from the South

1792
View by appointment
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Tintern: The Ruined Gatehouse of the Abbey, from the Wye’ 1798

Joseph Mallord William Turner Tintern: The Ruined Gatehouse of the Abbey, from the Wye

1798
View by appointment
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ruins of West Front, Tintern Abbey’ c.1794–5

Joseph Mallord William Turner Ruins of West Front, Tintern Abbey

c.1794–5
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Kirkstall Abbey: Interior of the Entrance to the Crossing, Looking East’ 1797

Joseph Mallord William Turner Kirkstall Abbey: Interior of the Entrance to the Crossing, Looking East

1797
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘York Minster, Looking East towards the Crossing and Organ Screen, from the Nave’ 1797

Joseph Mallord William Turner York Minster, Looking East towards the Crossing and Organ Screen, from the Nave

1797
Thomas Gainsborough, ‘Tintern Abbey’ 1782

Thomas Gainsborough Tintern Abbey

1782
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Melrose Abbey: The North Transept and Nave Seen from the Cloister’ 1797

Joseph Mallord William Turner Melrose Abbey: The North Transept and Nave Seen from the Cloister

1797
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘York Minster: The Interior, Looking towards the Crossing and North Transept from the South Transept’ 1797

Joseph Mallord William Turner York Minster: The Interior, Looking towards the Crossing and North Transept from the South Transept

1797

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