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

In this view of Nelson’s Monument on Calton Hill, Turner is standing just to the north-west of the tower so that he can see it and Arthur’s Seat behind. The main architectural features of the monument are shown including the tower’s division into stacked sections, designed to recall Nelson’s telescope, and the castellated building at its base (see folio 61; D13429; CLXV 59, for more information). Arthur’s Seat, though drawn only in outline, is distinctive enough from this angle to contain all the information that Turner needed for this sketch.

Below the hill is a path that leads Calton Hill, onto which Turner has inscribed ‘walk’, and, to the right of that is seen part of Calton Gaol, where St Andrew’s House now stands. Turner made several drawing of the Calton Hill in this sketchbook including a detailed close up of Nelson’s Monument (folio 61).