J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

With the page turned horizontally, the view is along the Wijnhaven in Dordrecht, looking south-west towards the tower of the Grote Kerk. The quays are now lined with trees, and the stone bridge in the middle distance was later replaced by the iron Nieuwbrug. Towards the right are the
cupola and pediment at the east end of the Neo-Classical Waterstaatstijl Bonifatiuskerk (St Boniface’s Church), built between 1822 and 18261 on the parallel Wijnstraat just behind the harbour, and now an events venue (see also folio 57 verso; D18952).

The slightly skewed perspective makes it unclear whether the various small boats and the kneeling figure in the foreground are immediate elements of the same scene; compare the boatyard setting south of the Grote Kerk on folio 62 recto opposite (D18961), and see this sketchbook’s Introduction for discussion of its many shipping studies. There is a view along the Wijnhaven in the other direction on folio 57 verso (D18952). See under folio 47 recto (D18931) for other views in and around the city in this book and elsewhere, many of which feature the Grote Kerk’s tower.