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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Second Italian Tour 1828-9 > Genoa and Florence Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Vessels 1828

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Vessels’ 1828
Folio 5 Recto:
A Moored Sailing Vessel in the Port of ?Genoa 1828
D21420
Turner Bequest CCXXXIII 5
Pencil on white lined wove paper, 96 x 144 mm
Inscribed in red ink ‘5’ (smudged), overwritten in pencil by C.F. Bell ‘5’, top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXIII – 5’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The stern of a moored sailing vessel, possibly a schooner, dominates this otherwise sparsely detailed study. The horizontal lines and circular markings to the right may represent coastal ramparts or the portholes of another vessel. Details of the surrounding topography are omitted, although the location is possibly the old port of Genoa, following the overall itinerary embodied by the sketchbook (see the Introduction), which begins in this coastal city and ends near Livorno and Florence.
Sailing vessels are a recurring feature of the present sketchbook, a reminder of Turner’s keen interest in maritime themes: see also folios 4 verso, 5 verso, 9 recto, 10 recto, 11 recto and verso, and 12 verso (D21419, D21421, D21428, D21430, D21432–D21433, D21435).
Technical notes:
This page is noticeably marked with fingerprint smudges, presumably those of the artist.

Hannah Kaspar
November 2024

How to cite

Hannah Kaspar, ‘A Moored Sailing Vessel in the Port of ?Genoa 1828’, catalogue entry, November 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, February 2025, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/a-moored-sailing-vessel-in-the-port-of-genoa-r1209960, accessed 17 April 2025.