J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > Oxford c.1787-91 > Oxford Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Waterfall Seen through an Arched Opening in a Wall c.1789

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Waterfall Seen through an Arched Opening in a Wall’ c.1789
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 24 Recto:
A Waterfall Seen through an Arched Opening in a Wall c.1789
D00042
Turner Bequest II 24
Wash with watercolour on white laid paper, 160 x 249 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘24’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘II 24’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
As Finberg noted, this is evidently not an English subject. It was perhaps copied from a view at Tivoli by John ‘Warwick’ Smith (1749–1831) or another artist who worked in Italy in the 1770s or 1780s. It is interesting not only for its concern with Italian scenery but also as an early essay in the effect of falling water, a technical challenge that was to occupy Turner on many occasions in the ensuing decade.
Verso:
Blank; stamped in brown ink with Turner Bequest monogram

Andrew Wilton
April 2012

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘A Waterfall Seen through an Arched Opening in a Wall c.1789 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 2012, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-waterfall-seen-through-an-arched-opening-in-a-wall-r1140197, accessed 19 April 2024.