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 > Scotch Lakes Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Stirling: General View of the Town from the River Forth 1801

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Stirling: General View of the Town from the River Forth’ 1801
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 163 Verso:
Stirling: General View of the Town from the River Forth 1801
D03229
Turner Bequest LVI 161a
Pencil on white wove paper, 184 x 114 mm
Partial watermark ‘mott | 97’
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The subject is continued on folio 164 recto opposite (D03230; Turner Bequest LVI 162). Turner’s viewpoint is either on or very near the Old Bridge (see folios 162 verso–163 recto; D03227–D03228; Turner Bequest LVI 160a–161). This is one of the more detailed and comprehensive of the views of Stirling in this sketchbook, with the tower of the Holy Rude (see folios 154 verso–155 recto; D03211–D03212; Turner Bequest LVI 152a–153).
The town is seen from the east, with shipping on the Forth in the foreground. Unusually for this sketchbook, there are indications of clouds and rays of light in the sky. The drawing on folios 164 verso–165 recto (D03231–D03232; Turner Bequest LVI 162a–163), also features a comparatively detailed study of clouds. For other views of Stirling and general comments, see under folio 150 verso (D03203; Turner Bequest LVI 148a).

Andrew Wilton
May 2013

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘Stirling: General View of the Town from the River Forth 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-stirling-general-view-of-the-town-from-the-river-forth-r1179425, accessed 24 April 2024.