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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > North of England 1797-1801 > Tweed and Lakes Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner York: The Old Ouse Bridge, with the Minster Beyond 1797

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘York: The Old Ouse Bridge, with the Minster Beyond’ 1797
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 84 Recto:
York: The Old Ouse Bridge, with the Minster Beyond 1797
D01071
Turner Bequest XXXV 69
Pencil on white wove paper, 274 x 370 mm
Watermark ‘1794 | J Whatman’
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘York’ bottom left, and with notes including ‘X’, ‘W’, ‘B’ and ‘S’ within the drawing
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram towards bottom right
Stamped in black ‘XXXV 69’ bottom left, descending vertically
The subject was drawn with the page turned horizontally. The bridge, the only river crossing in York at the time, is seen from downstream, with the Minster beyond and St William’s Chapel on the southern shore at the left. Turner scholar David Hill notes that Turner seems to have made this drawing from a boat, but that he was being rowed at the time seems unlikely. He must have been moored long enough to make this controlled and highly detailed record. In fact, his vantage point could surely have been a boat moored beside the south bank. Another, closer view of the Ouse Bridge, looking across the river to St William’s Chapel, is on folio 87 recto (D01074; Turner Bequest XXXV 72).
Verso:
Blank; stamped in brown ink with Turner Bequest monogram; inscribed by A.J. Finberg in pencil ‘141.6 [?9]’ (rubbed) and ‘XXXV 69’.

Andrew Wilton
August 2010

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘York: The Old Ouse Bridge, with the Minster Beyond 1797 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, August 2010, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, November 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-york-the-old-ouse-bridge-with-the-minster-beyond-r1150248, accessed 26 April 2024.