Joseph Mallord William Turner

Inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, this vigorous study lacks the annotations of colour or tone which Turner sometimes employed. There is no indication of a landscape setting; for other sky and cloud studies in this sketchbook, see the entry for the inside front cover (D40982).

Technical notes:

John Ruskin’s customary red ink page number at the corner beside the later stamp is not readily apparent here, although those on other leaves of this sketchbook are generally very faint. Finberg noted: ‘Part of leaf torn.’1 A large piece of the other outer corner, up to 73 x 43 mm, has been made good with modern, off-white wove paper.