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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > First Italian Tour 1819-20 > Naples, Paestum and Rome Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Study of Part of a Boat 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of Part of a Boat’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 60 Verso:
Study of Part of a Boat 1819
D16025
Turner Bequest CLXXXVI 58 a
Pencil on white wove paper, 113 x 189 mm
Inscribed by the artist in pencil ‘Green’, ‘Red’ and ‘B’ within sketch of boat
Inscribed by ?John Ruskin in red ink ‘1281’ bottom left
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner was always fascinated by boats and this study represents part of a highly decorated vessel which, as the artist has noted, was coloured with bands of green, red and blue. Finberg suggested that the drawing represents the prow (or front) of the boat, but it may alternatively depict the stern (back). Related sketches can be seen on folios 74 and 88 verso (D16051 and D16080; Turner Bequest CLXXXVI 72 and 86a).

Nicola Moorby
July 2010

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘Study of Part of a Boat 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, July 2010, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-study-of-part-of-a-boat-r1137949, accessed 02 April 2026.