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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Severn Valley, Chester and Peak District ... > Worcester and Shrewsbury Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Studies of Cloudy Skies ?1831

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Studies of Cloudy Skies’ ?1831
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 91 Verso:
Studies of Cloudy Skies ?1831
D22320
Turner Bequest CCXXXIX 90a
Watercolour and Pencil on white wove paper, 191 x 114 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘[?Sunny]’ towards top left, ‘Blue’, ‘yellow’, ‘Dun’, ‘[?L...]’ and ‘w [...]’ centre left, ‘Dun [...]’ centre right, ‘Dun Red’ and ‘Light [...]’ towards bottom left and ‘Yellow Edge’ and ‘Blue’ towards bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the page turned vertically, there are three rapid studies of cloudy skies here, separated by horizontal pencil lines. There may be indications of rain and features on the horizon in the central one. Typical of such sketches are the colour notes, including ‘Blue’ to differentiate areas of clear sky from clouds. There is a similar study on folio 92 verso (D22322; Turner Bequest CCXXXIX 91a).

Matthew Imms
April 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Studies of Cloudy Skies ?1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 2014, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-studies-of-cloudy-skies-r1148968, accessed 21 September 2024.