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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > West Country 1811 > Corfe to Dartmouth Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Corfe Castle: The Castle and Village from the West 1811

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Corfe Castle: The Castle and Village from the West’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 7 Recto:
Corfe Castle: The Castle and Village from the West 1811
D08814
Turner Bequest CXXIV 7
Pencil and watercolour on white wove paper, 170 x 209 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom centre
Stamped in black ‘CXXIV – 7’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The viewpoint is the western flank of the castle’s mound, looking south-east to the village – the only sketch from within the wards of the castle. There is a more distant view of this side of the castle and village from West Hill, on folios 1 verso–2 recto (D08808, D08809). For the various other drawings of Corfe Castle, see the entry for folio 17 recto (D08826).
Technical notes:
As on folio 8 recto (D08815), the line drawing has been reinforced by rough brown washes, restricted largely to the castle and hillside. A darker area of wash has been worked in while the first was still wet, and finer strokes indicate vegetation in the foreground. A small patch of green on the right presumably signifies foliage. The paper is browned from prolonged display, while the pigments have faded. The edges formerly protected by a display mount are bright where the paper is bare, and the watercolour retains its original strength along the bottom edge.
Verso:
Blank, save for inscriptions by John Ruskin in red ink ‘42’ top right and ‘638’ bottom left. There is some watercolour offsetting from the opposite page (D08815; CXXIV 8).

Matthew Imms
February 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Corfe Castle: The Castle and Village from the West 1811 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, February 2011, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-corfe-castle-the-castle-and-village-from-the-west-r1137297, accessed 20 April 2024.