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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > West Country 1811 > Devonshire Coast, No.1 Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Figures on a Beach or Quay with Fishing Boats, Probably in Devon 1811

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Figures on a Beach or Quay with Fishing Boats, Probably in Devon’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 84 Recto:
Figures on a Beach or Quay with Fishing Boats, Probably in Devon 1811
D08521
Turner Bequest CXXIII 81
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘81’ bottom right, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXXIII – 81’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner’s rapid sketch of this bustling scene focuses on a dozen or more figures in the foreground, where there seem to be fish indicated, suggesting a fish-market scene of the kind he painted on numerous occasions. There is a sketch of a similar scene at St Mawes later in the sketchbook on folio 136 recto (D08620; CXXIII 133). The buildings on the right here are similar to those recorded there, but without an indication of their wider context it is not possible to make a definite link. Although the sequence of sketches in this book is not strictly geographical, the context of the page at this point suggests a South Devon setting is more likely.

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Figures on a Beach or Quay with Fishing Boats, Probably in Devon 1811 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, June 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-figures-on-a-beach-or-quay-with-fishing-boats-probably-in-r1136998, accessed 20 April 2024.