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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > West Country 1811 > Devonshire Coast, No.1 Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Views of the Fortifications in Fowey Harbour 1811

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Views of the Fortifications in Fowey Harbour’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 47 Recto:
Views of the Fortifications in Fowey Harbour 1811
D08451
Turner Bequest CXXIII 47
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
Part watermark ‘th | 6’
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘47’ bottom right, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXXIII – 47’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Finberg notes two views, but in fact there appear to be four: a main view across the middle of the page, with variations at the top right and bottom right, with a further coastal sketch squeezed in above the latter. The three variations, perhaps drawn from a boat, all show similar views of the Polruan blockhouse to the left, looking south towards the mouth of the Fowey Estuary, with the Fowey side and the profile of St Catherine’s Castle to the right. A full-page view from a similar angle appears on folio 46 verso opposite (D08450). For other views in and around Fowey see under folio 5 verso (D08371).
Technical notes:
Peter Bower reproduces the page as a ‘transmitted light detail and look-through’, showing the part of the watermark found on the blank sheets of writing paper interleaved between the sheets printing paper carrying the engraved text of Coltman’s British Itinerary through most of this book (see the introduction to the sketchbook).

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Views of the Fortifications in Fowey Harbour 1811 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, June 2011, 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-views-of-the-fortifications-in-fowey-harbour-r1136928, accessed 19 April 2024.