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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner Sunset amid Dark Clouds over the Sea c.1845

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Sunset amid Dark Clouds over the Sea’ c.1845
Sunset amid Dark Clouds over the Sea c.1845
D35240
Turner Bequest CCCLIII 1
Watercolour and chalk on white wove paper prepared with a grey wash, 221 x 330 mm
Watermark ‘J Whatman | Turkey Mills | 1823’
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Inscribed in red ink ‘1’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCCLIII 1’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This is one of the most fully worked pages in the sketchbook, with washes of watercolour and sweeps of chalk extending across the entire surface of the sheet that make for an intense, foreboding atmosphere befitting of the whaling theme of the sketchbook as a whole. The tip of reflection of the sun in the near distance is just seen and to the left a flock of gulls is suggested by swiftly made strikes of white chalk. A flick of black chalk stands for the sail of a vessel on the horizon.
Technical Notes:
This leaf bears signs of water damage, probably as a result of the Tate Gallery flood of 1928. The leaf is mounted.
Verso:
Blank, save for offsets in black chalk and watercolour.

Amy Concannon
May 2025

How to cite

Amy Concannon, ‘Sunset amid Dark Clouds over the Sea c.1845’, catalogue entry, May 2025, 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/sunset-amid-dark-clouds-over-the-sea-r1214148, accessed 11 July 2026.