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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > Scotland 1801-10 > Helmsley Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Ravine of the River Esk near Whitby, at Twilight 1801

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Ravine of the River Esk near Whitby, at Twilight’ 1801
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 5 Recto:
The Ravine of the River Esk near Whitby, at Twilight 1801
D02468
Turner Bequest LIII 5
Pencil and watercolour on white wove paper, 112 x 162 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘5’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘LIII – 5’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Although the subject of this drawing is not documented, it is probably the dramatic ravine through which the North Yorkshire River Esk runs before it reaches Whitby and the North Sea. We are apparently looking away from the town towards a pale glow in the western sky. Whitby is the subject of drawings on the following six leaves, from folio 6 recto onwards (D02469).
This is the first of a small group of drawings in this sketchbook to which highly expressive watercolour washes have been added. Others are on folios 9 verso, 11 recto, 14 recto, 38 verso, 41 verso–42 recto, 97 recto and 98 recto (D02474, D02477, D02480, D02526, D02532–D02533, D02608, D02609).
Verso:
Blank

Andrew Wilton
May 2013

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘The Ravine of the River Esk near Whitby, at Twilight 1801 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-the-ravine-of-the-river-esk-near-whitby-at-twilight-r1178490, accessed 26 April 2024.