Dunstanborough Castle

Joseph Mallord William Turner and Charles Turner

National Gallery of Art

This drawing is black and white, with a yellowed tinted hue. The horizon takes up about half of the drawing with a single color with slightly shaded streaks mixed in towards the top. Closer to us, there is a lagoon of water, broken by ripples and harsher waves. Protruding, jagged rocks slope upwards on the beachside. Following the path of the rocks in the bottom right corner, a protruding line of barrier rocks progresses into the distance. This points to a loosely defined house in the middle left of the painting, slightly covered by a rolling hill and some tall bushes. On the bold ridge of rocks, nine sheep graze and congregate, with two shapes that could be more sheep or rocks. Beyond, a large castle fades in the distance, looming over the house and ridge of rocks. The castle rests on a rolling hill with a dozen sheep sparsely populating the hill. The castle appears broken down with deteriorating walls, sharp ledges, and cracks flowing down the wall. Within the small, broken walls, there is a tower, made of a similar substance to the castle. A flag flies on top of the tower while overlooking a ledge on the left side of the painting. On the right side of the painting, the castle walls trail off towards the other side of the rocky coast.