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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8

Joseph Mallord William Turner Dryburgh Abbey from the West 1831

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 73 Recto:
Dryburgh Abbey from the West 1831
D26058
Turner Bequest CCLXVII 75
Pencil on off-white wove writing paper, 113 x 185 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘13’ at top
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘75’ bottom left inverted and ‘271’ top left inverted
Stamped in black ‘CCLXVII – 75’ top left inverted
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the sketchbook inverted, this sketch shows a view of Dryburgh Abbey from the west (see also folio 72 verso; D26057; CCLXVII 74a). In the foreground is the west gable of the refectory with its impressive rose window. Turner’s inscription ‘13’ probably refers to the number of segments it is divided into; although there are in fact 12. Behind the refectory to its right is the gabled wall of the south transept with its arched window, and to the right of this can be seen one of the gables of the chapter house.
The sketch is one of a number of close-up studies of Dryburgh Abbey (folios 71 verso–73 verso (D26055–D26059; CCLXVII 73a–75a), made when Turner visited it on 8 August (see folio 9; D25942; CCLXVII 9).

Thomas Ardill
September 2009

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Dryburgh Abbey from the West 1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2009, 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-dryburgh-abbey-from-the-west-r1134426, accessed 28 March 2024.