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

Inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, there are two separate studies. The first and largest shows two women, one perhaps in a hooded cloak and the other in a bonnet. The first appears to be barefoot, with the other in curving clogs. There is a deftness in capturing local figures in movement, born of long practice; compare for example two women walking barefoot in the 1801 Scotch Figures sketchbook (Tate D03442 (Turner Bequest LIX 3). Below is a smaller study of figures pulling a heavily loaded two-wheeled cart, with colour notes.

There are similar studies on folio 207 verso and the recto (D19251–D19252), the latter including other women in cloaks. There is no indication of their setting, but they were likely made in the streets of Ghent as they fall within a series of views around the city; see under folio 201 verso (D19239). See the sketchbook’s Introduction for discussion of its many figure scenes, and studies of individuals, their costume and headgear.