Thursday, February 13, 2020

Turner Sketches Durham Cathedral

During his 1801 trip north toward Scotland, J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851) filled seven sketchbooks. In one of them, he captured the changing light over Durham Cathedral after a rainstorm.

Durham Cathedral with Castle and Rainbow, 6.5 x 4.5 inches 
The castle and cathedral are half in light and half in shadow, with a dark foreground.

Durham Cathedral with Castle and Rainbow, 6.5 x 4.5 inches 
A few minutes later, in the same sketchbook, he notated a different effect, with the light focused on the middle ground.
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More at the Tate Museum website
These two sketches appear in the book Turner's Early Sketchbooks: Drawings in England, Wales and Scotland from 1789-1802
Another book on the topic is: Turner's Sketchbooks, a 2018 paperback from the Tate.


Posted by James Gurney at Thursday, February 13, 2020
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1 comment:

Unknown said...

If you haven't made it to the big Turner watercolors show in Mystic, CT, you still have a few days (last day is Feb. 23rd). 300 pieces, and only sent out on tour "once-a-generation" (for watercolor fragility concerns)- and for whatever reason, this is the only North American showing:
https://www.mysticseaport.org/turner/

February 13, 2020 at 10:23 AM

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