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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > History Painting c.1799-1807 > Academies Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Leda and the Swan c.1800-7

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Leda and the Swan’ c.1800-7
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 4 Recto:
Leda and the Swan circa 1800–7
D05170
Turner Bequest LXXXIV 5
Pencil and pen and brown ink on white wove paper, 119 x 73 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘5’ top right, running vertically
Stamped in black ‘LXXXIV 5’ top right, running vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The subject, first recognised as Leda and the Swan by Ian Warrell, continues on folio 4 verso of the sketchbook (D40640). Like the double-spread subject on the verso of this leaf and on folio 5 (D05171–D05172), this could be an idea for a picture, although Life Class models were often posed in classic formulae like this.

David Blayney Brown
November 2004

How to cite

David Blayney Brown, ‘Leda and the Swan c.1800–7 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, November 2004, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, April 2016, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-leda-and-the-swan-r1178347, accessed 26 April 2024.