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 ?Fishermen Launching or Beaching a Boat c.1826-40

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘?Fishermen Launching or Beaching a Boat’ c.1826-40
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
?Fishermen Launching or Beaching a Boat c.1826–40
D24795
Turner Bequest CCLIX 230
Gouache and watercolour on blue wove paper, 142 x 195 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram towards bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCLIX 230’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Among the studies of figures by the sea in the present section, this study has the most developed setting of water and sky. The dark forms emerging from the watery reflections on the beach at the centre coalesce into figures leaning as they launch or beach a small boat, with others apparently on board. They may be fishermen; for other examples see the Introduction.
Technical notes:
The centre of the sheet is somewhat faded, and dark lines around the bottom right are traces of a previous acidic mount.
Verso:
Blank, save for slight traces of white chalk at the centre right. These may have been offset from a drawing on another sheet, or possibly constitute an inscription resembling ‘13’ or ‘B’.

Matthew Imms
December 2015

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘?Fishermen Launching or Beaching a Boat 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-fishermen-launching-or-beaching-a-boat-r1182578, accessed 27 April 2024.