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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8

Joseph Mallord William Turner Study of Rain Clouds c.1813

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 2 Recto:
Study of Rain Clouds c.1813
D09891
Turner Bequest CXXXV 2
Pencil on white wove paper, 88 x 113 mm
Part watermark ‘C Wil | 18
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘2’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CXXXV – 2’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
It is unclear whether there is an element of landscape towards the bottom of the drawing, or if it is entirely a study of heavy clouds. There is a similar drawing on the verso, extending over folio 3 recto (D09892–D09893). There are drawings in the Bristol area beginning on folio 3 verso (D09894), so it may be that these studies were also made there or nearby.
Technical notes:
There is staining from the leather overlapping inside the cover of the sketchbook (D41524). There is a small, ringed spot of foxing at the top left, also showing through to the verso (D09892).

Matthew Imms
April 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Study of Rain Clouds c.1813 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 2014, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-study-of-rain-clouds-r1147846, accessed 29 March 2024.