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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Scotland 1818-20 > Bass Rock and Edinburgh Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Edinburgh Castle from the South-West 1818

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Edinburgh Castle from the South-West’ 1818
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 41 Recto:
Edinburgh Castle from the South-West 1818
D13393
Turner Bequest CLXV 41
Pencil on white laid paper, 99 x 159 mm
Stamped in black ‘CLXV 41’ top right running vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This view of Edinburgh Castle shows the west side with the Ordnance Stores, New Barracks, and Queen Anne Building. During his visit to Edinburgh in 1818 Turner drew the castle from all angles: from up close and from far away, in relation to various other parts of the city and in isolation. This process of looking and sketching helped Turner to gain a knowledge of the castle, to find the best views and provided him with a store of sketches and memories to work from. This sketch, concentrates on just a portion of the castle, playing particular attention to the architecture, and using hatching to help define the shape of the buildings.

Thomas Ardill
November 2007

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Edinburgh Castle from the South-West 1818 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, November 2007, 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-edinburgh-castle-from-the-south-west-r1131935, accessed 23 April 2024.