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

With the page turned vertically, Turner has drawn a series of small diagrams with associated notes, which continue ‘down’ from folio 36 verso opposite (D22390). Finberg described them as ‘unintelligible’,1 and no attempt has been made here to systematically transcribe the notes, as only occasional letters can be recognised or guessed at. Towards the top left may be the outline of a horse and rider, with a couple of words underneath and ‘6 [...]’ to the right. There is a rectangle or shield shape further down, with a letter or shape inside it. As with the notes on the opposite page, these might be memoranda of paintings, perhaps seen in a Midlands collection in the course of Turner’s tour.

Below, towards the outer edge of the page, is a very rapid sketch, possibly indicating trees or the arches of a bridge. A word at the bottom right appears to begin with ‘L’ and is presumably the one tentatively read as ‘“Leamington (?)”’ by Finberg.2 Royal Leamington Spa lies just east of Warwick, which Turner drew in the contemporary Kenilworth sketchbook (see under Tate D22047; Turner Bequest CCXXXVIII 38a), but the sketch here is so slight and the word so difficult to make out that a connection cannot be made with any certainty There is possibly a connection with the verticals and arches of what appear to be architectural interiors on the verso (D22392).

Technical notes:

This leaf is affected by the extensive pale brown, mottled staining which extends throughout this particular gathering (folios 31–42; D22379–D22402) and also folios 30 and 43 recto and verso (D22377, D22378, D22403, D22404), as discussed in the Technical notes to the sketchbook’s Introduction.