Joseph Mallord William Turner

The loop of cloth or leather in which the figure has placed his wrist was commonly used in life schools to enable the model to maintain otherwise exhausting poses. It is possible that the figure in Tate D00202 (Turner Bequest XVIII G) was similarly assisted, though the loop is not drawn.

There is an offset of this drawing on Tate D00064 (Turner Bequest V L).

Technical notes:

Peter Bower1 explains the watermark as a combination of three continental marks, including that of Lubertus van Gerrevinck, which would have been used together on high quality papers; Gerrevinck’s mark was used later in the eighteenth century by English makers including James Whatman the elder. The presence of these marks here probably indicates that a mould discarded by another mill was being used.

Verso:

Blank; stamped in brown ink with Turner Bequest monogram; inscribed in pencil ‘6’.