Joseph Mallord William Turner

This colour study on blue paper of sailing vessels on the River Loire is one of three stylistically similar shipping scenes which Turner worked up from his 1826 tour of Northern France. See also D24644 and D24726 (Turner Bequest CCLIX 79, 161).1 Comparable boats to those in this work were noted down in the Nantes, Angers and Saumur sketchbook; see entry for Tate D23158 (Turner Bequest CCXLVIII 4a). The same sketchbook also contains a similar landscape setting, possibly depicting the riverside settlement of Ingrandes; see entry for Tate D23183 (Turner Bequest CCXLVIII 17).

Technical Notes:

The sheet belongs to a batch of lightweight blue paper used by Turner made by George Steart of Bally, Ellen and Steart at De Montault Mill, Coombe Down, Bath. 1

Verso:

Inscribed in pencil with the note ’25 | b’ in the centre of the page and ‘CCLIX 185’ towards the bottom left-hand corner. Stamped in black with the Turner Bequest monogram and ‘CCLIX – 185’ in the centre of the page.