Joseph Mallord William Turner

Rendered with a brevity of line, here Turner pictures part of a riverside scene. A barge can be seen with its sails up high at left while a solitary figure stands atop a quayside wall at right. The surrounding environment is left blank, Turner drawing in no other aspect of the physical location in which the figure and vessels are situated. This composition, most probably the chance result of the artist moving on to sketch another view or perhaps finding this prospect lacking, is striking nonetheless.

Verso:

Blank, with the exception of a single pencil stroke.