A River Scene with Barges, Probably on the Thames Upstream from London

c.1815–16

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Liber Notes (1) Sketchbook
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 102 x 160 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D10780
Turner Bequest CXLIII 5

Catalogue entry

The subjects from folio 3 recto (D10778) to folio 6 recto (D10781) await positive identification, but the views of Southwark Bridge preceding them (see under folio 1 recto; D10775) and the subsequent sketch of Greenwich on folio 7 recto (D10783) suggest that they are all likely to be River Thames scenes around London. The meandering watercourse with trees and barges shown here is reminiscent of many of the studies made while Turner lived west of London beside the Thames at Isleworth, a decade before the likely date of the studies here.1

For Gerald Wilkinson’s comments on the style and dating of this and other pages in the sketchbook, see under folio 4 recto (D10779).

See David Hill, Turner on the Thames: River Journeys in the Year 1805, New Haven and London 1993.

Verso:

Blank

Matthew Imms
September 2013

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