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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Erotica and Improvisations c.1834-6 > Fishing at the Weir Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Studies of Clouds over the Sea c.1834-6

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Studies of Clouds over the Sea’ c.1834-6
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 30 Recto:
Studies of Clouds over the Sea c.1834–6
D27780
Turner Bequest CCLXXXI 30
Pencil on white wove paper, 79 x 101 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘w’ top left, ‘sky’ top right, ‘low Tide’ above centre, and ‘low’ or ‘cold’ bottom centre
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘30’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCLXXXI – 30’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
There appear to be two studies here, one above the other and inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation. Each shows a small building, perhaps a tower, at the left, with clouds above the horizon of the sea beyond. Each also shows a small disk just over the horizon, presumably indicating the sun rising or setting, or possibly the moon. Turner’s annotation indicates the viewpoint is a beach at ‘low tide’.
There are various studies of fishermen, fish markets and coastal views in the sketchbook, particularly on adjacent pages at this end, as set out in the Introduction.

Matthew Imms
April 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Studies of Clouds over the Sea c.1834–6 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-studies-of-clouds-over-the-sea-r1149140, accessed 20 September 2024.