Not on display
- Artist
- Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
- Medium
- Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: 902 x 1213 mm
- Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
- Reference
- N05480
Display caption
This sketch and the one next to it were made in preparation for Turner’s first and only royal commission, a huge painting to commemorate the battle of Trafalgar (currently exhibited in Turner and the Masters). In this design, Turner is plotting the relative positions of the boats, with Nelson’s Victory dominating the scene. The composition at this stage was very static. The more dynamic final work was to be criticised by naval officers for its inaccuracy.
Gallery label, February 2010
Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.
Catalogue entry
250. [N05480] First Sketch for ‘The Battle of Trafalgar’ c. 1822–3
THE TATE GALLERY, LONDON (5480)
Canvas, 35 3/4 × 47 1/2 (91 × 120·5)
Coll. Turner Bequest 1856 (16, ‘Companion to ditto [Battle of Trafalgar, see No, 251 [N00556]]’ 4'0" × 3'0"); transferred to the Tate Gallery 1947.
Lit. Davies 1946, p. 158.
In the 1856 copy of the Schedule, Wornum annotated no. 16 as ‘unfinished’. This is the first oil sketch for the large picture begun in 1823 for George IV, No. 252; for a second, more detailed sketch see No. 251.[N00556] In this picture, there are no figures in the sea in the foreground and the Victory is seen slightly from the rear rather than approaching. The sails are also different, as is the placing of the other ships. However, as in the second sketch, the composition is closed on the right by a ship seen stern on.
There are paint losses in the top right-hand corner and to a lesser extent in small areas elsewhere.
Published in:
Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner, revised ed., New Haven and London 1984
Explore
- history(5,803)
- seascapes and coasts(8,003)
-
- sea(3,366)
- transport: water(8,020)
-
- ship, sailing(1,344)
- ship, warship(250)
You might like
-
Joseph Mallord William Turner Second Sketch for ‘The Battle of Trafalgar’
c.1823 -
Joseph Mallord William Turner The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory
1806–8 -
Clarkson Frederick Stanfield Sketch for ‘The Battle of Trafalgar, and the Victory of Lord Nelson over the Combined French and Spanish Fleets, October 21, 1805’
1833 -
Joseph Mallord William Turner Study for ‘The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory’
1805 -
Joseph Mallord William Turner Diagram of Ship Positions at the Battle of Trafalgar
1805 -
Joseph Mallord William Turner Diagram of Ship Positions and Notes on the Battle of Trafalgar
1805 -
Joseph Mallord William Turner Study for ‘The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory’
1805 -
After Joseph Mallord William Turner Battle of the Baltic
1837 -
Joseph Mallord William Turner Van Tromp Returning after the Battle off the Dogger Bank
exhibited 1833 -
Philip James De Loutherbourg The Battle of the Nile
1800 -
George Jones Battle of Borodino
exhibited 1829 -
Thomas Whitcombe The Battle of Camperdown
1798 -
Joseph Mallord William Turner Study for ‘The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory’
1805 -
Joseph Mallord William Turner Study for ‘The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory’
1805 -
Philip James De Loutherbourg The Battle of Camperdown
1799