Edinburgh from Calton Hill
About this artwork
Turner produced three views of Edinburgh for Sir Walter Scott’s Provincial Antiquities. Here he focuses on the construction of Regent Bridge and Waterloo Place, at the foot of Calton Hill. This ambitious project to bridge the deep ravine at Low Calton resulted from a need to create a route to the large new city jail, shown in the left foreground. Evidence of continuing building work can be seen in the long mason’s shed to the east of Regent Bridge. The silhouettes of the Castle, St Giles’s Cathedral and the Tron Church are shown on the horizon, with the Pentland Hills in the distance beyond.
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title:Edinburgh from Calton Hill
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accession number:D 5446
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artist:
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materials:Watercolour over pencil with gouache and scraping out on wove paper
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date created:About 1819
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measurements:16.80 x 24.90 cm (framed: 58.90 x 43.70 cm)
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credit line:Purchased by Private Treaty via Christie's with support by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund and with the assistance of the Art Fund 1998
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Turner transformed the art of landscape painting in Britain. From detailed topographical studies to expansive, atmospheric vistas his works celebrate the diversity and emotive power of nature. He was born in Covent Garden, the son of a barber, and exhibited his earliest sketches in his father's shop before studying at…