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

With the page turned horizontally, Antwerp is shown, with the Sint-Pauluskerk (St Paul’s) to the south; compare folio 194 recto (D19224). The gabled buildings in the left foreground remain to be identified, but appear to have been in the vicinity of the harbour basin off the River Scheldt, perhaps near where the Loodswezengebouw port building now stands. The turreted feature at the centre may be a gateway, seen obliquely, and the detail with rusticated and sculptural elements above likely shows its façade. There are figures and vertical features on the right, including the masts of moored boats and perhaps a raised oar.

The harbour has seen much subsequent development, and tower blocks preclude a view to the church; the verso (folio 197 verso; D19231) likely shows the old fortifications north of the harbour. For other views of Antwerp here and elsewhere, see under folio 188 recto (D19212).