Joseph Mallord William Turner

A Barge, with Sails and a Group of Figures

c.1825

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

License this image

In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment
Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Thames Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 114 × 188 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D18602
Turner Bequest CCXII 5

Catalogue entry

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

Read full Catalogue entry

Explore

You might like

Left Right

In the shop

Browse the shop