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

There are two coastal studies on this page as ascertained by Finberg.1 The first is made with the sketchbook turned vertically and the second produced in line with the horizontal foliation.

The first of these, at the top of the vertical page, describes Martello towers and the profile of various buildings on the coastline below. One of several inscriptions on the page appears to read ‘W’, in the top right hand corner of the page. Indeed, the prospect might describe a westerly view along the Kent coast at Sandgate where Martello towers are set back from the sea, stationed at elevated points above the castle and town. For a list of studies in this sketchbook which describe the Martello fortifications, see the entry for folio 5 verso (D17215). A roughly delineated structure at the water’s edge on the far left could denote the fortified castle at Sandgate. A full list of the Sandgate studies in this book is included in the entry for folio 16 verso (D17233).

The second sketch, made with the page turned horizontally as per the regular foliation of the sketchbook, describes the faint outline of a horizon, possibly another coastal cliff, upon which sits a cluster of three buildings. Each has a flat, squared-off roof. The tower furthest to the right is marked by a small, dark, vertical line projecting upwards from this flat surface. The topography to the right of these architectural forms is rendered using a wavy line, which overlaps a little with the drawing described above.