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 > Scotch Antiquities Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Regent Bridge 1818

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Regent Bridge’ 1818
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 36 Recto:
Regent Bridge 1818
D13643
Turner Bequest CLXVII 34
Pencil on white wove paper, 112 x 186 mm
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This impressive bridge, unidentified by Finberg but recognised by Katrina Thomson as Regent Bridge,1 was built between 1816 and 1819 to cross the ravine between Edinburgh and Calton Hill, connecting the east end of Princes Street, and providing access to the hill, Calton Cemetery and Calton Gaol. The bridge is here seen from the south side. The impressive central arch is fifty feet wide, and above it the bridge is decorated by a colonnade with an open arch in the centre, held up by Corinthian columns. Below the structure are crowded winding streets, bustling with people, and behind are the rooftops of Edinburgh’s New Town. Turner would have crossed Regent Bridge to reach Calton Hill from where he made several sketches of Edinburgh and Arthur’s Seat.
1
Thomson 1999, pp.26, 46 note 55.
Verso:
Blank

Thomas Ardill
March 2008

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Regent Bridge 1818 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, March 2008, 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-regent-bridge-r1132191, accessed 21 September 2024.