Joseph Mallord William Turner

With the sketchbook turned vertically, towards the top of this page Turner composes a study of vessels on the river, which Finberg identified specifically as the River Medway.1 A significant portion of the page above the water and boats is occupied with a dramatic sketch of the expansive, cloudy sky. Scribbles, hatches, and rippled lines intersect sporadically with Turner’s inscriptions, which relate to the fickle and blending colours of the prospect. The vessels themselves sit just below the watery horizon.

At the bottom of the page, made with the sketchbook orientated horizontally according to foliation, is a section of a lightly rendered drawing which continues across the gutter onto folio 3 recto (D17369). Finberg’s title for this and the facing sheet also locates this drawing on the River Medway.2 On the present page a slice of gestural topography is indicated, as well as a simple outline of a vessel with three masts, each comprised only of a single pencil line. For an explanation of the remainder of the composition, see the entry for folio 3 recto (D17369).