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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Northern Germany, the Elbe and Prague ... > Rotterdam Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Lock 1835

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Lock’ 1835
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 20 Recto:
A Lock 1835
D32482
Turner Bequest CCCXXI 20
Pencil on off-white laid paper, 95 x 153 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘Lock’ bottom left
Inscribed in red ink by Ruskin ‘20’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCCXXI–20’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Here Turner depicts Rotterdam’s Schiekolk, a small harbour in the centre of the city. A ‘lock’ (inscribed at bottom left) can be seen in the foreground, with boats being lowered and raised to access the network of canals beyond. The old Delft Gate can be seen at centre and the tower of St Lawrence’s Church is visible in the distance at left. A similar view is rendered on Tate D32480; Turner Bequest CCCXXI 19.

Alice Rylance-Watson
April 2016

How to cite

Alice Rylance-Watson, ‘A Lock 1835 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 2016, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, August 2017, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-lock-r1187296, accessed 24 April 2024.