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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8

Joseph Mallord William Turner Barges and Figures c.1807-14

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 2 Recto:
Barges and Figures c.1807–14
D08284
Turner Bequest CXXII 2
Pencil on white wove paper, 69 x 112 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘2’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CXXII – 2’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
There are several shallow boats and figures in the foreground. It is unclear whether the rough forms beyond are landscape features or stacks on a quayside.
There are various identified and likely subjects along the Thames Valley in this sketchbook, as discussed in the Introduction, of which this might be one.
Technical notes:
The surface is rather rubbed, and browned at the outer edges from proximity to the leather overlaps beneath the front endpaper (D40898).

Matthew Imms
September 2013

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Barges and Figures c.1807–14 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-barges-and-figures-r1147760, accessed 29 March 2024.