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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Liber Studiorum notes c.1807-19 > Liber Notes (2) Sketchbook [Finberg CLIV ... > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Strawberry Plant c.1808-18

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Strawberry Plant’ c.1808-18
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 6 Recto:
A Strawberry Plant c.1808–18
D12132
Turner Bequest CLIV a 6
Pencil on white wove paper, 112 x 89 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘Strawbery [sic] young | Leaves yellow green | Old Dark and Cold’ bottom left
Stamped in black ‘CLIV (a) – 6’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Made with the page turned vertically, the drawing shows a strawberry plant (Fragaria) in flower. It is seen in isolation, with shading to some of the leaves; Turner has also written a note on variations in their colour. There are other botanical studies on folios 5 recto, 7 recto, 8 recto and 9 recto (D12131, D12133, D12135, D12136).
Technical notes:
There is a small loss to the central portion of the top (outer) edge, presumably caused by rubbing against the clasp of the original cover (see the Introduction to the sketchbook), similarly affecting the leaves from folio 1 (D12124, D12125) as far as the present leaf. There is a pale brown stain radiating from the centre of the top edge, again apparently caused by proximity to the original clasp.
There seems to be no sign of John Ruskin’s usual red ink foliation; there are such numbers on most of the later pages (see the Introduction to the sketchbook).
Verso:
Blank

Matthew Imms
September 2013

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A Strawberry Plant c.1808–18 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-strawberry-plant-r1147548, accessed 24 April 2024.