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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Studies from 1802 Continental Tour ... > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Buildings and Trees c.1803

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Buildings and Trees’ c.1803
Buildings and Trees c.1803
D40063
Pencil on white wove paper, 273 x 200 mm
Inscribed in pencil ‘? B’ bottom right
Stamped in black with Turner Bequest monogram above ‘LXXX B’ towards bottom right, ascending vertically
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This pencil sketch of buildings and trees appears unrelated to the unfinished but relatively far-advanced watercolour of the Château d’Argent in Italy’s Val d’Aosta on the recto (D04895; Turner Bequest LXXX B), a composition of about 1803 based on a drawing from the previous year’s tour to the Alps.
This side was not mentioned in Finberg’s 1909 Turner Bequest Inventory;1 nor has it attracted comment since, and the loosely outlined buildings remain unidentified.
Technical notes:
There is extensive staining towards the corners and a repair at the top right, which is also evident at the corresponding bottom left corner of the horizontal watercolour design on the recto (D04895).

Matthew Imms
November 2020

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Buildings and Trees c.1803’, catalogue entry, November 2020, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, July 2026, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/buildings-and-trees-r1212995, accessed 31 July 2026.