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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Thames, London and South of England 1821 ... > Old London Bridge Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Buildings and Trees with a Low Sun, Possibly on or near the River Thames c.1823-4

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Buildings and Trees with a Low Sun, Possibly on or near the River Thames’ c.1823-4
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 40 Recto:
Buildings and Trees with a Low Sun, Possibly on or near the River Thames c.1823–4
D17903
Turner Bequest CCV 40
Pencil on white wove paper, 98 x 162 mm
Watermark ‘1821’
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘40’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCV – 40’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This rapidly drawn subject, a wooded landscape with a low sun, is unidentified. It may be a scene in the Thames Valley west of London, perhaps idealised in the course of drawing. Buildings seem to be outlined here and there on the skyline, and there is possibly a cart or carriage loosely indicated on the left, suggesting a basis in reality. There are rural views around Richmond upon Thames at the beginning of this sketchbook; see the Introduction, and compare also folio 16 recto (D17864).
If actually observed, the low sun towards the left may have reminded Turner of Claude Lorrain (c.1604–1682), an important influence,1 whose pictures featuring the sun itself he sometimes emulated. The monochrome watercolours earlier in this book may also owe something to Claude, as discussed in the Introduction.
1
See for instance Ian Warrell and others, Turner Inspired: In the Light of Claude, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery, London 2012.
Technical notes:
There is an adventitious strip of watercolour along the bottom edge which presumably bled from the full page design on folio 39 recto (D17901).

Matthew Imms
December 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Buildings and Trees with a Low Sun, Possibly on or near the River Thames c.1823–4 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, December 2014, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, April 2015, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-buildings-and-trees-with-a-low-sun-possibly-on-or-near-the-r1172617, accessed 04 April 2026.