Joseph Mallord William Turner

Like the other works grouped here, this relates to the arrival of Louis-Philippe, King of the French, at Portsmouth Harbour on 8 October 1844, as discussed in the Introductions to this subsection and the overall section.1 Robert Upstone has noted the bunting in the rigging on the left, which Turner ‘abbreviates ... to dots’;2 for other examples see the subsection’s Introduction.3

Upstone has suggested that the vessel on the right is the King’s large hybrid sail-steamship, the Gomer, sailing north from the Solent into the harbour’s mouth, with the cupola of Portsmouth Cathedral and the Square Tower semaphore station to the east; compare the prospect in Tate D35888 (Turner Bequest CCCLXIV 48).4 The ship paused at the Victoria Pier below the semaphore tower before moving on to Gosport;5 it is shown in a pencil drawing in the Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth sketchbook (Tate D35692; Turner Bequest CCCLXII 5).

Verso:

Blank; inscribed in ink ‘5’ top right (for other sheets numbered in this way see the Introduction to this subsection); stamped in black with Turner Bequest monogram over ‘CCCLXIV – 57’ towards bottom right.