J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > France c.1826-41 > France: Identified or Likely Subjects ... > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A ?Normandy Street, with Church and Figures c.1830

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A ?Normandy Street, with Church and Figures’ c.1830
A ?Normandy Street, with Church and Figures c.1830
D24952
Turner Bequest CCLX 116
Pencil and ink and watercolour on blue wove paper, 192 x 142 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom centre
Stamped in black ‘CCLX 116’ bottom right, descending vertically
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
A church, with a prominent rose window and tall bell tower, dominates this street scene. To the left of the composition is a grand building, adorned with classical columns and arches. Various groups of figures are included along the street.
In his 1909 Inventory of the Turner Bequest, A.J. Finberg included the present picture among a sequence of drawings on blue paper, which he described as ‘mostly connected with the “French Rivers” series’ (see the Introduction to this section for an overview of the details and relevance of Finberg’s classification of these works).1 He identified the subject as ‘A Normandy Church’, presumably in reference to the general character of the architecture.2 A more precise identification has not yet been possible.
1
Finberg 1909, II, p.806.
2
Ibid., p.812.
Verso:
Blank, except for inscriptions in pencil ‘CCLX 116’ top right, ascending vertically, and ‘D24952’ bottom right. There is white paper or tape adhering around the edges, dating from the lengthy early period when the sheet was mounted and displayed.

Hayley Flynn
April 2024

How to cite

Hayley Flynn, ‘A ?Normandy Street, with Church and Figures c.1830’, catalogue entry, April 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, November 2024, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/a-normandy-street-with-church-and-figures-r1209225, accessed 25 June 2025.