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 and Yorkshire 1814-17 > Devon Rivers, No.1 Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner South Gate, Launceston, and the Castle, with St Stephen's Church in the Distance 1814

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘South Gate, Launceston, and the Castle, with St Stephen's Church in the Distance’ 1814
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 113 Recto:
South Gate, Launceston, and the Castle, with St Stephen’s Church in the Distance 1814
D09603
Turner Bequest CXXXII 113
Pencil on white wove paper, 90 x 152 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘113’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CXXXII – 113’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
South Gate, with its pitched roof and arch, is seen down the hill, with Launceston Castle on its mound beyond the trees to the left, and the church tower near the centre. The viewpoint is Race Hill, looking north-west down Southgate Street; the views to the left and right are now constricted by later buildings and trees, but the castle can be glimpsed from nearer the gateway.
There is a more detailed study from a similar viewpoint in the Devonshire Rivers, No.3, and Wharfedale sketchbook (Tate D09823; Turner Bequest CXXXIV 31), probably in use on the same occasion. For further views of Launceston, see under folio 106 recto (D09596).

Matthew Imms
June 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘South Gate, Launceston, and the Castle, with St Stephen’s Church in the Distance 1814 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, June 2014, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-south-gate-launceston-and-the-castle-with-st-stephens-church-r1147152, accessed 20 September 2024.