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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Distant View of Amsterdam 1817

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Distant View of Amsterdam’ 1817
Folio 42 Recto:
A Distant View of Amsterdam 1817
D13073
Turner Bequest CLXII 42
Pencil on ‘blue’ laid writing paper, 93 x 156 mm
Stamped in black ‘CLXII – 42’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the page turned horizontally, the city seen in the distance in this sketch appears to be Amsterdam with the towers of the Westerkerk (as suggested by Finberg) and Noorderkerk, one very tall and the other low. Turner notes two windmills on the right. For Amsterdam in this sketchbook and Turner’s journey there from The Hague on 7 September 1817, see notes to folio 39 verso (D13068).

Quirine van der Meer Mohr
December 2013

Revised by David Blayney Brown
September 2025

How to cite

Quirine van der Meer Mohr, ‘A Distant View of Amsterdam 1817’, catalogue entry, December 2013, revised by David Blayney Brown, September 2025, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, June 2026, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/a-distant-view-of-amsterdam-r1212448, accessed 31 July 2026.