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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1836-47 Modern painter > Venice, Austria and Southern Germany ... > Venice and Botzen Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner ?Palaces on the Grand Canal, Venice 1840

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘?Palaces on the Grand Canal, Venice’ 1840
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 65 Recto:
?Palaces on the Grand Canal, Venice 1840
D31918
Turner Bequest CCCXIII 65
Pencil on cream wove paper, 123 x 173 mm
Partial watermark ‘J. Wh’
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘65’ top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCCXIII – 65’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This sketch, made with the page turned horizontally, has the sense of the beginning of a relatively detailed scene, unusually abandoned for some reason. The central building could potentially be the Ca’ Rezzonico seen from the south along the Grand Canal, as seen to the right of centre on folio 64 verso opposite (D31917). If it is that building or another substantial Renaissance palace, it may be that Turner realised he had not left himself sufficient space on the right to introduce façades on the opposite side of the canal while suggesting its proportionate width.

Matthew Imms
September 2018

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘?Palaces on the Grand Canal, Venice 1840 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2018, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2019, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-palaces-on-the-grand-canal-venice-r1196813, accessed 20 September 2024.