'Rhayader Gwy Bridge over the River Wye', Joseph Mallord William Turner

Artwork details

Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775‑1851)

Title

Rhayader Gwy Bridge over the River Wye

From Welsh, Isle of Wight and Other Subjects

Date ?1795

MediumGouache and watercolour on paper

Dimensionssupport: 331 x 443 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856

Reference

D00705

Turner Bequest XXVIII T

View this artwork by appointment, at Tate Britain's Prints and Drawings Rooms

Catalogue entry

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851

Rhayader Gwy Bridge over the River Wye ?1795

D00705
Turner Bequest XXVIII T

Pencil and watercolour on white wove paper, 331 x 443 mm
Watermark ‘1794 | J WHATMAN’ (trimmed)
Stamped in black ‘XXVIII – T’ bottom right

Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856

Exhibition history

References

This watercolour is apparently a copy or adaptation of a drawing now in the National Museum Wales, Cardiff,1 which, although it bears Turner’s signature, is more probably the work of Edward Dayes (1763–1804). It demonstrates the considerably more sophisticated artistry that Turner could already deploy in handling such Picturesque subjects. The lively invention of appropriate figures is particularly noteworthy.

Andrew Wilton, J.M.W. Turner: His Life and Work, Fribourg 1979, p.310 no.81, reproduced.

Verso:

Blank; not stamped; stained and creased; a tear measuring approximately 45 mm at top right edge has been repaired.

Andrew Wilton
April 2012

Read this catalogue entry in full

This catalogue entry is part of: David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, December 2012.