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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > History Painting c.1799-1807 > Studies for Pictures Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Castle among Mountains, with Light on a Distant Peak c.1799-1802

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Castle among Mountains, with Light on a Distant Peak’ c.1799-1802
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 4 Recto:
A Castle among Mountains, with Light on a Distant Peak c.1799–1802
D03997
Turner Bequest LXIX 4
Pencil and white chalk on blue laid paper, 135 x 210 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘4’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘LXIX-4’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The topography in this view, drawn with the page turned horizontally, does not correspond obviously to any known Welsh castle, though it incorporates elements from several. Its isolation on a high rock is reminiscent of Carreg Cennen in South Wales, its proximity to what appear to be high mountains suggests Snowdonia, and the castle on a high cliff above what may be the sea is like Harlech; compare folio 2 recto (D03995). For similar reasons Finberg suggested Dolbadarn,1 though the mass of the building bears no resemblance to that single tower. Other castles that Turner considered in this book include Pembroke (folio 1 recto; D03994) and Dunstanburgh in Northumberland (folio 5 recto; D03998).
1
Finberg 1909, I, p.170.
Verso:
Blank; slight offset from folio 5 recto opposite (D03998).

Andrew Wilton
May 2013

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘A Castle among Mountains, with Light on a Distant Peak c.1799–1802 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, May 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, April 2016, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-castle-among-mountains-with-light-on-a-distant-peak-r1177874, accessed 25 April 2024.