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 in an Interior 1811

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Figures in an Interior’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 142 Verso:
Figures in an Interior 1811
D08631
Turner Bequest CXXIII 139a
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The scene is perhaps an inn on Turner’s West Country route. There are steps down from the right of where a man leans forwards, and there may be a further level below, indicated by shading at the bottom left. The figures within are obscure, although there appears to be at least one woman, seated in the centre, apparently on the floor.
There is another study of figures in a dark interior on folio 137 verso (D08622; CXXIII 134a), although the two scenes appear otherwise unrelated.

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Figures in an Interior 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-in-an-interior-r1137108, accessed 26 April 2024.