Joseph Mallord William Turner

Cologne: Colour Study

c.1824–32

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Not on display

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Medium: Watercolour on paper
Dimensions: Support: 268 × 408 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D25312
Turner Bequest CCLXIII 190

Display caption

At first sight these two drawings appear simply to be coloured studies of familiar views on the Rhine, executed on sheets of paper of nearly identical size and in a limited colour range reminiscent of that used in nos.4-11. They are, however, imaginative works rather than strictly topographical ones. No.23 is similar to the historical scene shown in no.24, while no.22 depicts, with a large degree of artistic licence, the bridge of boats at Cologne which Turner did not see until 1824. The drawings may perhaps relate to an unfulfilled commission of which nothing is yet known.

Gallery label, August 2004

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