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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > First Italian Tour 1819-20 > Naples, Paestum and Rome Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Sketches of Soldiers' Uniforms 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Sketches of Soldiers' Uniforms’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 73 Recto:
Sketches of Soldiers’ Uniforms 1819
D16049
Turner Bequest CLXXXVI 71
Pencil on white wove paper, 189 x 113 mm
Inscribed by ?John Ruskin in red ink ‘71’ top left, ascending left-hand edge, and ‘245’ top right, ascending right-hand edge
Stamped in black ‘CLXXXVI 71’ top right, ascending right-hand edge
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This page contains several small studies of soldiers, a couple of whom are pictured playing musical instruments. Turner is particularly interested in the decorative details of their uniforms and hats. A couple of similar figures can be seen in the foreground of a view of Naples from the Sant’Elmo Hill, see folio 48 verso (D16003; Turner Bequest CLXXXVI 46a).

Nicola Moorby
August 2010

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘Sketches of Soldiers’ Uniforms 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, August 2010, 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-sketches-of-soldiers-uniforms-r1137973, accessed 19 February 2025.