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

With the sketchbook turned horizontally, Turner filled this page with a depiction of Montivilliers in Normandy as viewed from the north. This small town is situated about seven miles north-east of the port at Le Havre and is dominated by the Romanesque Church of Saint-Sauveur, the lantern tower and spire of which can be seen in the top right-hand quadrant of the page. The upper left-hand part of the scene is given over to a brief description of the town’s defences. Turner’s interest in the picturesque potential of this town culminated in a gouache and watercolour sketch of around this date; Tate D24650 (Turner Bequest CCLIX 85). A list of pages in this volume featuring views of Montivilliers is provided in the entry for folio 96 recto (D24071; Turner Bequest CCLIV 96).