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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > East Sussex c.1806-20 > Vale of Heathfield Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Diagram c.1810-16

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Diagram’ c.1810-16
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 2 Verso:
A Diagram circa 1810–16
D10208
Turner Bequest CXXXVII 2a
Pencil on white wove paper, 181 x 228 mm
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The meaning of this diagram, which incorporates a circle, is unclear. However it seems to represent some kind of instrument, possibly part of a camera obscura. One was installed in John Fuller’s Observatory near Rosehill (now Brightling) Park, which Turner drew in this sketchbook (folios 37 verso–38; D10254–D10255; Turner Bequest CXXXVII 36a–37).
On the back cover (D41535) there is a slight sketch which may also be the beginning of a diagram, although it does not appear to be related to the present sketch.
Technical notes:
A small hole half-way down the left-hand edge seems to relate to a former means of fastening the front cover of the sketchbook (see under D40864).

David Blayney Brown
March 2011

How to cite

David Blayney Brown, ‘A Diagram c.1810–16 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, March 2011, 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-a-diagram-r1131248, accessed 14 May 2024.