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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > History Painting c.1799-1807 > Egyptian Details Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Study of a Fallen Tree ?1799

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of a Fallen Tree’ ?1799
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 89 Recto:
Study of a Fallen Tree ?1799
D03925
Turner Bequest LXVI 89
Pencil and white chalk on blue laid paper, 83 x 166 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘89’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘LXVI – 89’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This study was made with the page turned horizontally. The chaotic way in which branches are broken and tossed on top of each other in this and the drawing on folio 90 recto (D03926) suggests that the tree or trees Turner records in these sketches came to earth as a result of high winds rather than in systematic felling. Similar studies are on folios 87 recto and 88 recto (D03923, D03924).

Andrew Wilton
May 2013

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘Study of a Fallen Tree ?1799 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, May 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, April 2016, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-study-of-a-fallen-tree-r1180164, accessed 09 January 2026.