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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Scotland 1834 > Stirling and Edinburgh Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Bothwell Castle from the South 1834

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Bothwell Castle from the South’ 1834
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 30 Recto:
Bothwell Castle from the South 1834
D26317
Turner Bequest CCLXIX 30
Pencil on off-white wove paper, 190 x 113 mm
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘30’ top left running vertically and ‘340’ top right running vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCLXIX 30’ top right running vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Drawn with the sketchbook turned to the left are two sketches of Bothwell Castle. These were made, along with sketches on folios 28 verso–30 verso (D26314–D26318), as Turner walked away from the castle along the River Clyde towards Bothwell Bridge (folio 31; D26319). The castle, which stands on a bluff above the eastern bank of the Clyde, rises above the trees at the top centre of each picture and is reflected in the water below. At the right is the riverside path along which Turner was walking. In the foreground of the bottom sketch is what may be a small rowing boat. Turner has also sketched at the bottom right two architectural details: a window and the donjon tower with a triangular scar indicating where a roof used to join the side of the tower. For more information about Turners’ visit to Bothwell, and references to further sketches, see folio 26 (D26309).

Thomas Ardill
October 2010

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Bothwell Castle from the South 1834 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, October 2010, 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-bothwell-castle-from-the-south-r1136247, accessed 10 May 2024.