Joseph Mallord William Turner

A Group of Crouching Male Figures ?Playing Dice

1799

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
Dolbadarn Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 79 × 130 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D02159
Turner Bequest XLVI 111 a

Catalogue entry

Made with the page turned horizontally, this is perhaps a note of some of the workmen engaged on the building of Fonthill Abbey while Turner was staying there in 1799; see the Fonthill sketchbook (Tate D02197; Turner Bequest XLVII 20). Alternatively, this group of figures may relate to one or more of the historical subjects Turner was contemplating at this time; see for instance folios 59 verso and 60 recto (D02088, D02089) in this book.

Andrew Wilton
May 2013

Read full Catalogue entry

Explore

You might like

Left Right

In the shop

Browse the shop