Turner travelled to the Isle of Skye in 1831. His destination was the remote Loch Coruisk, tucked within the jagged peaks of the Black Cuillin. He made several sketches around the loch, but none of them relate exactly to this watercolour. Turner creates a charged, ominous atmosphere, as two whirlpools of cloud loom over the mountains. The minute figures in the foreground suggest human frailty against the awesome power of nature. This work was engraved in 1834 and published in Scott’s Poetical Works, in the volume containing his poem The Lord of the Isles.