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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1836-47 Modern painter > Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth 1844 > Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Buildings at or near Portsmouth Harbour; ?Figures and Masts or Oars 1844

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Buildings at or near Portsmouth Harbour; ?Figures and Masts or Oars’ 1844
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 17 Recto:
Buildings at or near Portsmouth Harbour; ?Figures and Masts or Oars 1844
D35715
Turner Bequest CCCLXII 17
Pencil on white wove paper, 116 x 74 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘17’ top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCCLXII – 17’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Like the other rapid sketches in this book, this relates to the arrival of Louis-Philippe, King of the French, at Portsmouth Harbour on 8 October 1844, as discussed in the Introductions to the sketchbook and the overall section.
With the page turned vertically, above are two views of low waterfront buildings. The cluster of marks at the centre apparently represent small boats crowded with figures, drawn inverted relative to the foliation, the vertical strokes being masts or shipped oars.

Matthew Imms
September 2016

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Buildings at or near Portsmouth Harbour; ?Figures and Masts or Oars 1844 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2016, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, March 2017, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-buildings-at-or-near-portsmouth-harbour-figures-and-masts-or-r1185659, accessed 22 November 2024.