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 Figure on a Beach or a Sailing Boat, below a Crescent Moon c.1826-40

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘?A Figure on a Beach or a Sailing Boat, below a Crescent Moon’ c.1826-40
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
?A Figure on a Beach or a Sailing Boat, below a Crescent Moon c.1826–40
D24621
Turner Bequest CCLIX 56
Gouache on blue wove paper, 140 x 189 mm
Inscribed in red ink ‘56’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCLIX 56’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This extremely slight study appears to juxtapose a high, waxing crescent moon with what may be a figure on a beach or a sail off shore, evoked by a barely modulated vertical stroke of pinkish gouache. There seem to be traces of more white, which may indicate that further elements have faded, assuming they are not fortuitous. For finished compositions with near-deserted shore scenes beneath the moon, see the Introduction.
Verso:
Blank; inscribed by John Ruskin in pencil ‘311 | O’ bottom right; inscribed in pencil ‘54–68’ top left; inscribed in pencil ‘D24621’ bottom centre. There is a border of white paper or tape, indicating that the sheet was formerly mounted.

Matthew Imms
December 2015

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘?A Figure on a Beach or a Sailing Boat, below a Crescent Moon c.1826–40 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-figure-on-a-beach-or-a-sailing-boat-below-a-crescent-moon-r1182563, accessed 26 April 2024.