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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Erotica and Improvisations c.1834-6 > Fishing at the Weir Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Fishwives and Fishermen and a Sailing Boat; Studies for Compositions c.1834-6

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Fishwives and Fishermen and a Sailing Boat; Studies for Compositions’ c.1834-6
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 17 Recto:
Fishwives and Fishermen and a Sailing Boat; Studies for Compositions c.1834–6
D27755
Turner Bequest CCLXXXI 17
Pencil on white wove paper, 79 x 101 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘17’ top left, upside down
Stamped in black ‘CCLXXXI – 17’ top left, upside down
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The main view is inverted, and shows men and women sitting and leaning on walls or rails, presumably by a river or harbour, with the sails of a boat passing beyond. The sou’wester-style hat of the figure on the left suggests he is a fisherman; compare the study on folio 28 recto (D27777). There are various studies of fishermen, fish markets and coastal views in the sketchbook, particularly towards the end, as set out in the Introduction.
At the bottom right are two heavily worked, rather indistinct sketches made with the page turned vertically. There are figures in at least one, perhaps with a sail beyond, and they may be thumbnail sketches for compositions related to the main drawing.

Matthew Imms
April 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Fishwives and Fishermen and a Sailing Boat; Studies for Compositions c.1834–6 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-fishwives-and-fishermen-and-a-sailing-boat-studies-for-r1149116, accessed 25 April 2024.