Joseph Mallord William Turner

Figures ?Engaged in Sexual Activity

c.1810

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

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Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Academy Auditing Sketchbook [Finberg CCX(a)]
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 115 × 187 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D18516
Turner Bequest CCX a 35

Catalogue entry

As discussed in the introduction, most of the drawings in this book are rapid figure studies, many of which are explicitly erotic; others may be similar in intent, but are difficult to make out, and may be of classical or biblical subjects. Here, while the couple on the left clearly embrace, the tumbling interaction of the figures to the right are more ambiguous.
Verso:
Blank

Matthew Imms
January 2012

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