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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp; Two Small Views 1817

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp; Two Small Views’ 1817
Folio 2 Verso:
The Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp; Two Small Views 1817
D12999
Turner Bequest CLXII 2a
Pencil on ‘blue’ laid writing paper, 93 x 156 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘C[?W]’ and ‘B’ towards top centre, over skyline, and ‘Pink’ towards top left, in sky, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
During his homeward journey in 1817 Turner stayed in Antwerp on 2 and 3 September. His notes on what to see, places to stay and the onward journey by coach to Rotterdam are in his Itinerary Rhine Tour pocket-book (Tate D12542; Turner Bequest CLIX 9). With the page turned horizontally, this sketch of the tower of the cathedral extends from folio 3 recto opposite (D13000), where more of the city is shown.
Two smaller sketches in the margins of this page comprise, at top right within a drawn border, a thumbnail outline of a shoreline and buildings, perhaps part of Antwerp as seen from the River Scheldt, and at top left, ascending vertically relative to the main view, boats on water at sunrise.
Further sketches of Antwerp run to folio 7 recto (D13008).

Quirine van der Meer Mohr
December 2013

Revised by David Blayney Brown
September 2025

How to cite

Quirine van der Meer Mohr, ‘The Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp; Two Small Views 1817’, catalogue entry, December 2013, revised by David Blayney Brown, September 2025, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, June 2026, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/the-cathedral-of-our-lady-antwerp-two-small-views-r1212374, accessed 31 July 2026.