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 A Country Weir, with a Man Sitting on the Structure c.1834-6

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Country Weir, with a Man Sitting on the Structure’ c.1834-6
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 22 Recto:
A Country Weir, with a Man Sitting on the Structure c.1834–6
D27765
Turner Bequest CCLXXXI 22
Pencil on white wove paper, 79 x 101 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘2’ [sic] bottom right (see main catalogue entry)
Stamped in black ‘CCLXXXI – 22’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
As set out in the Introduction, this is one of a sequence running through the middle of this sketchbook showing a substantial rural weir with a fence-like wooden superstructure, populated by numerous adults and children engaged in or watching fishing. The location is unidentified. Here, a man nonchalantly balances on a rail above the turbulent water.
Technical notes:
This leaf and folio 23 (D27767, D27768) have been trimmed slightly at the fore-edge, in this case cutting off the second ‘2’ of the red ink page number. The top and fore-edge are darkened by dust or exposure, indicative of disturbance at some point, and there are signs of neat strengthening or repair work at the gutter. Both leaves appear to have been extracted, potentially for display, as shown by the consecutive red ink numbers inscribed on them, apparently by John Ruskin, in this case ‘995’ on the verso (D27766); for further discussion, see the Technical notes in the sketchbook’s Introduction.

Matthew Imms
April 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A Country Weir, with a Man Sitting on the Structure 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-a-country-weir-with-a-man-sitting-on-the-structure-r1149126, accessed 20 April 2024.