Joseph Mallord William Turner

Waterway, Calais

c.1826–30

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

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Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Loose Studies of Northern France
Medium: Pen and ink and graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 141 × 191 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D24870
Turner Bequest CCLX 34

Catalogue entry

This is one of a batch of ink sketches of Calais on blue paper which can be dated on stylistic grounds to the later 1820s. The Tour de Guet and tower of the Hôtel de Ville can be seen on the horizon. The exact occasion of these studies is unknown although Turner specialist Ian Warrell has suggested a link to the return leg of the artist’s tour of Northern France in the autumn of 1826.¹ See the Introduction to this section for a list of these works.

Ian Warrell, Turner on the Seine, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London 1999, pp. 32, 253 note 86, 254 note 99.

Verso:

Inscribed in pencil with the notes ‘D. 24870’ in the bottom left-hand corner of the sheet and ‘CCLX – 34’ in the bottom left-hand corner.

John Chu
March 2016

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