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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Figures on a Beach c.1826-45 > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Beached Boat, with Fishermen Resting c.1835-40

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Beached Boat, with Fishermen Resting’ c.1835-40
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
A Beached Boat, with Fishermen Resting c.1835–40
D24592
Turner Bequest CCLIX 27
Chalk, gouache and watercolour on blue wove paper, 141 x 188 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCLIX 27’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This study shows fishermen resting in and around a beached boat, with others off shore. The two in the right foreground wear characteristic sou’wester hats. The lively colour and handling is comparable with that in Tate D24763 (Turner Bequest CCLIX 198), a contrasting scene of fishermen looking out to sea. See the Introduction for other examples.
As discussed there, this is one of the subjects of figures by the sea which Ian Warrell tentatively suggested as linked to Brighton around 1827, while noting that they could equally well show scenes in England or France on other occasions.1 The dating of c.1835–40 assigned to this sheet for recent exhibitions has been retained, although others may be from as early as 1826.
1
See Warrell 1989, pp.120, 123 note 114.
Verso:
Blank, save for slight traces of white chalk, possibly offset from another sheet.

Matthew Imms
December 2015

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A Beached Boat, with Fishermen Resting c.1835–40 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, December 2015, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, November 2016, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-beached-boat-with-fishermen-resting-r1182560, accessed 18 April 2024.