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

The three sketches here were made on separate occasions. At the top is a view of Leuven (formerly Louvain), to the east of Brussels, which Turner must have visited during his two days in the city on 14 and 15 August 1817. In his Itinerary Rhine Tour pocket book used that year he noted that the journey from Brussels to Leuven would take an hour and a half (Tate D12696; Turner Bequest CLIX 31). The spires in the centre of Turner’s sketch probably belong to Leuven’s Gothic town hall, seen from the corner of the Brusselsestraat which terminates in the Grote Markt.

The second sketch is of Mechelen (formerly Malines) with St Rumbold’s Cathedral and tower centre left and what appears to be the outline of the Brusselpoort (Brussels Gate) with its two spires further left. Turner must have drawn the gate from the south-east. The spire on the right could be that of St Janskerk. However, the sequence of buildings from left to right is slightly out of perspective.

The third sketch depicts Dordrecht with the Nieuwe Kerk and Walenkerk in the background. In the foreground is a shipyard, presumably at the Kalkhaven with a ship heeled over for caulking on the left, and a group of figures in the centre and houses on the right, one of which has a typical Dutch gable. For another view of the Kalkhaven in this sketchbook see folio 9 verso (D13013). Turner spent a day and a half on 10 and11 September in Dordrecht in 1817 and made many drawings. See the Introduction to the sketchbook.