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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Colour Studies of the Sun, Skies and ... > Colour Studies of Clouds, Storms and ... > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Rainbow above a Beach c.1816-20

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Rainbow above a Beach’ c.1816-20
A Rainbow above a Beach c.1816–20
D17182
Turner Bequest CXCVI R
Watercolour on white wove paper 353 x 488 mm
Watermark ‘J Whatman | 1816’
Stamped in black ‘CXCVI R’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This sheet features an elementary sketch of a rainbow forming in an overcast sky. The setting appears to be a sandy beach. The broad watercolour washes characterise this sheet as one of Turner’s ‘colour beginnings’: the artist is focused on evoking the general state of the sky and weather instead of developing any visual details.
It is difficult to locate and date this sheet with accuracy. However, the watermark visible along the far-left edge of the sheet provides a terminus post quem.
In terms of subject matter and appearance, this sheet is comparable to Tate D17197 (Turner Bequest CXCVII G) and D25296 (CCLXIII 174).
Verso:
Blank; blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom left, with ‘D17182’ inscribed in pencil beside it, and ‘CXVI . R’ in pencil below, crossed out.

Caitlin Doley
August 2024

How to cite

Caitlin Doley, ‘A Rainbow above a Beach c.1816–20’, catalogue entry, August 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, October 2024, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/a-rainbow-above-a-beach-r1208870, accessed 02 August 2025.