Dear Scotland, Love J.M.W Turner

By Ilaria Bevan

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1755-1851) was undoubtedly one of the most innovative and exciting painters working in the landscape genre during the late eighteenth century through to the mid nineteenth century. Better known as William Turner, the artist has remained at the forefront of British Art History throughout his lifetime right through to the present day. 

J.M.W Turner, Self Portrait, c. 1799. Oil paint on canvas, 743 × 584 mm. Tate Britain, London.

Working mainly in watercolour and oil paint, Turner’s works are featured in some of the greatest public collections including Tate Britain, London (to which the artist bequeathed a large majority of his works after his death in 1851 and are housed in the Clore Gallery), the National Gallery, London, and the British Museum, London.

Photograph of the Clore Gallery in Tate Britain, London. Photo © Rikard Österlund.

Although Turner is widely recognised for his fresh and original takes on landscapes and seascapes around England that spoke to the changing industrial climate and the awesome local topography, travel comprises a major part of his artistic oeuvre. Having spent fifteen years (1802-1817) in Continental Europe, exploring great cities and regions including Venice, Rome, the Alps and Northern Europe it comes as no surprise that these places would have a great impact on his interests and techniques. 

However, we cannot forget that early ‘sketching tours’ around England, Wales and Scotland during the 1790s and early 1800s up to his departure for Continental Europe introduced Turner to views outside of London. Of these locations, it is known that Turner visited Scotland at least six times from 1797 to 1834, which demonstrates how important and impactful the Scottish topography was in shaping his later artistic journey. 

One of the most significant experiences in Scotland was Turner’s decision to embark on an extended tour of the country in 1801. During this expedition Turner used nine sketchbooks in total, eight of which are dedicated to different locations including Edinburgh, Dunbar, the Scotch Lakes and Tummel Bridge. During the trip Edinburgh would serve as the artist’s base and a place that he explored in great detail, with approximately 118 drawings and watercolours being made there. Distant View of Edinburgh Castle from the Water of Leith (1801) is one such example and, as suggested by Geralk Wilkinson, anticipates Turner’s mature, poetic style in which he uses landscape to represent atmosphere. Watercolours such as this certainly lie behind the complex views of Edinburgh that Turner sent to the Royal Academy the following year such as Edinburgh from Calton Hill. 

J.M.W Turner, Distant View of Edinburgh Castle from the Water of Leith, 1801. Graphite on paper, 127 × 195 mm. Tate Britain, London.

J.M.W Turner, Edinburgh from Calton Hill, c. 1819. Watercolour over pencil with gouache and scraping out on wove paper, 16.8 x 24.9 cm. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Interestingly, Scotland appealed to Turner in more than just its landscape, as told by his sketchbook dedicated to ‘Scotch Figures’. Comprising drawings and watercolour sketches, Turner has documented figures he encountered on his travels perhaps with the intention to utilise them in future compositions. In a similar manner to the eighteenth-century French costume books, these studies portray a range of figures, either alone or in groups, wearing local costume. Often depicted wearing plaid and barefoot, Turner’s studies demonstrate the culture and lives of the Scottish peasant class. 

J.m.W Turner, Two Women Wearing Plaids, Walking with Bare Feet, 1801. Pencil and watercolour on white wove paper, 156 x 92 mm. Tate Britain, London.

An invitation to collaborate with Scotland’s greatest Romantic poet, Sir Water Scott, in 1818 would provide Turner with another opportunity to explore Scotland and its topography. The twelve-part publishing project entitled ‘Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland’ asked Turner to produce high quality engravings of aesthetic and historical sites around Scotland that would  accompany descriptions written by Scott. For this Turner would return to Scotland and produced ten watercolours including and Heriot’s Hospital, Edinburgh for the occasion. Although the project was cut short due to the lack of commercial success, a friendship formed between the poet and painter that would continue to provide opportunities for Turner to revisit Scotland on numerous occasions in the 1820s and 1830s. 

J.M .W Turner, Heriot’s Hospital, Edinburgh, c. 1819. Watercolour over pencil with some scraping out on wove paper, 16 x 25 cm. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.

As a result of Turner’s frequent presence and interest in Scotland, it is no surprise that his works are well known to Scottish audiences. However, this admiration and interest in the Romantic painter would be supplemented by the annual ‘Turner in January’ exhibition at the National Gallery of Scotland. 

Held every year since 1901, the anticipated exhibition is made up of drawings and watercolours bequeathed by the collector Henry Vaughan (1809-1899) to the museum. Thirty-eight in total, Vaughan hand-picked the set from his extensive collection of works by the artist in order to provide audiences with an overview of Turner’s entire career. Highlights would include views of Venice and the rich European landscapes, as well as five works portraying Scottish landscapes. Interestingly, Vaughan left very specific instructions for the display of this group of pictures: understanding that excessive light would be damaging to the delicate works of art, Vaughan stated that the works must only be shown in winter, when the light is less intense and would illuminate Turner’s thin washes of colour in the most beautiful manner possible. 

This much-loved display is currently on show, free of charge, at the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh and provides an opportunity for audiences to marvel at Turner’s virtuoso ability to render the world’s unique natural forms and atmosphere on paper in a way that other collections of the artist’s works do not. Christopher Baker, Director of European and Scottish Art and Portraiture at the National Galleries of Scotland noted that “This annual exhibition is a great moment of escapism and its return a cause for celebration!”. Indeed, any interaction with Turner’s works, whether they be with great oil paintings such as The Fighting Temeraire (1838), or with his pocket-sized Scottish sketchbooks is a cause for celebration. 

J.M.W Turner, The Fighting Temeraire (The Fighting Temeraire, tugged to her last Berth to be broken up), 1838. Oil on canvas, 90.7 x 121.6 cm. National Gallery, London.

Bibliography:

Art Travelist. “Follow the footsteps of Turner in Scotland. Last modified February 8, 2021. https://artravelist.com/follow-the-footsteps-of-turner-in-scotland/.

National Galleries Scotland. “Joseph Mallord William Turner.” Accessed January 14, 2022.https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/features/joseph-mallord-william-turner. 

National Galleries Scotland. “Joseph Mallord William Turner.” Published January 7, 2016 on the National Gallery Youtube page, Video, 4:34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo1ZowKkpc8&ab_channel=nationalgalleries. 

National Galleries Scotland. “Turner in January.” Accessed January 14, 2022. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/turner-january. 

Stephen, Phyllis. “Turner in January opens from today”. The Edinburgh Reporter. Last Modified January 1, 2022. https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2022/01/turner-in-january-opens-from-today/. 

Tate. “J.M.W Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours. The 1801 Tour of Scotland and Related Works 1801-10.” Accessed January 15, 2022. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/the-1801-tour-of-scotland-and-related-works-r1177780#entry-main.