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 Study of a Cloudy Sky; ?Studies of Military Uniform c.1817-18

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of a Cloudy Sky; ?Studies of Military Uniform’ c.1817-18
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 67 Recto:
Study of a Cloudy Sky; ?Studies of Military Uniform c.1817–18
D12217
Turner Bequest CLIV a 66
Pencil on white wove paper, 89 x 112 mm
Inscribed by Turner ‘[?a...]’ centre left, ascending vertically and ‘[?Righ s.. | ?one ...]’ around centre, ascending vertically
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘66’ top left, upside down (smudged)
Stamped in black ‘CLIV (a) – 66’ top left, upside down
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the page turned vertically, Turner has made disjointed sketches of what appear to be details of uniforms or accessories, perhaps as part of his interest in the battle of Waterloo around 1817–18 (see under folio 1 recto; D12124). There are related studies on folio 66 recto (D12215; Turner Bequest CLIV a 65).
The main sketch, however, is a study of clouds, inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation and apparently superimposed on the existing uniform details. As set out under folio 7 verso (D12134), there are nearly thirty pages of cloud studies in this sketchbook, some annotated with colours and other observations.

Matthew Imms
September 2013

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Study of a Cloudy Sky; ?Studies of Military Uniform c.1817–18 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-study-of-a-cloudy-sky-studies-of-military-uniform-r1147634, accessed 05 April 2026.