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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Thames, London and South of England 1821 ... > Thames Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Barge, with Sails and a Group of Figures c.1825

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Barge, with Sails and a Group of Figures’ c.1825
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 5 Recto:
A Barge, with Sails and a Group of Figures c.1825
D18602
Turner Bequest CCXII 5
Pencil on white wove paper, 114 x 188 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘R’ and ‘W’ towards bottom left, on and beside figure
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘5’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCXII – 5’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The setting appears to be a quayside with a group of figures looking towards a commercial barge. The annotations ‘R’ and ‘W’ typically stand for red and white. The spatial relationship between the barge and the hastily sketched sails is unclear, as is the setting; in August 1825 Turner was abroad in the Low Countries, and it is possible that the scene was observed there, although drawings on nearby pages including the verso (D18603) show the familiar scene from the top of Richmond Hill (see the Introduction).

Matthew Imms
December 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A Barge, with Sails and a Group of Figures c.1825 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, December 2014, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, April 2015, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-barge-with-sails-and-a-group-of-figures-r1172719, accessed 19 April 2024.