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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > Royal Academy c.1789-99 > Drawings from the Nude Model > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Male Nude Seated Cross-legged on Rocks, with His Chin in his Hand; a Study of an Arm and Hand ?1793-4

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Male Nude Seated Cross-legged on Rocks, with His Chin in his Hand; a Study of an Arm and Hand’ ?1793-4
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
A Male Nude Seated Cross-legged on Rocks, with His Chin in his Hand; a Study of an Arm and Hand ?1793–4
D00205
Turner Bequest XVIII J
Black, white and red chalk and stump on laid buff paper; 535 x 420 mm
Watermark: ornamented fleur-de-lys, countermarked ‘C.A & C’
Inscribed by Turner in black chalk ‘[?J M T]’ lower right
Inscribed in red ink ‘XVIII J’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘XVIII J’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The formulas for foliage seen here in the lower right of the design correspond closely to those adopted by Turner in his landscape drawings and watercolours of the early 1790s. They derive from the style of P.J. de Loutherbourg (1740–1812). The inscription appears to be a monogram, and may be an early experiment with Turner’s four initials. Compare the monograms on Tate D00198 and D00203 (Turner Bequest XVIII C, H).
Technical notes:
A large hole at the upper left has been restored. Bower relates this sheet to the possibly French paper used in D00064 (Turner Bequest V L).
Verso:
Laid down; Ian Warrell has noted an offset from Tate D00201 (Turner Bequest XVIII F).

Andrew Wilton
April 2012

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘A Male Nude Seated Cross-legged on Rocks, with His Chin in his Hand; a Study of an Arm and Hand ?1793–4 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 2012, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-male-nude-seated-cross-legged-on-rocks-with-his-chin-in-r1140213, accessed 21 November 2024.