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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > East Sussex c.1806-20 > Herstmonceux and Pevensey Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Skeleton of an Animal c.1806-10

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Skeleton of an Animal’ c.1806-10
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 6 Recto:
The Skeleton of an Animal circa 1806–10
D05623
Turner Bequest XCI 6
Pencil and white chalk on cream wove paper, prepared with a buff wash, 128 x 201 mm
Inscribed by ?John Ruskin in black ink ‘6’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘XCI 6’ bottom left, descending vertically
Blind-stamped with the Turner Bequest monogram, lower right of centre
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
See note to the similar subject on folio 5 of the sketchbook (D05622) for John Ruskin’s claim that this skeleton was used for Turner’s design for the Liber Studiorum plate Little Devil’s Bridge.
The paper is discoloured from exposure.
Verso:
Blank, but inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘184’; there are traces of paper from a former mount, marked with red ink.

David Blayney Brown
March 2011

How to cite

David Blayney Brown, ‘The Skeleton of an Animal c.1806–10 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, March 2011, 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-the-skeleton-of-an-animal-r1130933, accessed 22 November 2024.