Caerlaverock Castle

Artist Joseph Mallord William Turner (London, England, 1775 - 1851)

Datec. 1832

Mediumwatercolour on paper

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 8.3 cm, Width: 14.5 cm
Frame: Height: 49.5 cm, Width: 65.5 cm, Depth: 2 cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1982 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions and the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG000623

Keywords

About MeTurner visited Scotland on six different occasions. Each visit proved to be enormously fruitful. His fifth visit, in 1831, had been prompted by an invitation from Sir Walter Scott for Turner to sketch locations as illustrations for Scott's 'Poetical Works'.

The 13th century Caerlaverock Castle is depicted as a magnificent feudal fortress. Turner emphasises its proportions by his dramatic use of lighting, the suggestion of rain clouds in the distance and the way in which a centrifugal force seems to whip up the building into a torment of energy which appears to be only just contained by its massive sandstone walls.

More About Me

Collections Wall

Turner depicts the magnificent 13^th century feudal fortress Caerlaverock Castle, once a stronghold of the Maxwell family of Dumfries, emphasising its vastness by his use of dramatic lighting and weather effects.