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

Made with the page inverted according to the foliation of the sketchbook, the sketch on this page describes a bend in the river Medway at Rochester in Kent, as ascertained by Finberg.1 To the right of centre the imposing tower of Rochester Castle stands out from the otherwise blank urban sprawl in which it is situated. Turner looks down at the scene, and trees flank his view on both sides. The river itself swerves through the landscape, beginning towards bottom right and snaking across the page in a serpentine form. The handling is loose, plotting broad shapes rather than specific detail. The prospect is similar to other studies in the present sketchbook which deal with Rochester. A list of studies which encompass the same subject matter can be found in the entry for folio 6 verso (D17217).