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

Orienting the sketchbook vertically, Turner used this page to compose three figurative studies. In the upper section is a male figure with a hat, and possibly a shepherd’s crook in his hand. He stands next to a seated group, which includes one figure wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Two further studies of female figures appear beneath, both with Turner paying particular attention to their headwear: a cap and a wide-brimmed straw hat. The figure to the right is possibly holding a shepherdess’s crook.

The inclusion of sun hats suggests this sketch was executed at an early stage of Turner’s tour to Rome, perhaps in August or September 1828 as he travelled through southern France. The sketchbook contains other quotidian scenes of rustic life, including on folios 47 recto and 50 verso (D21935, D21941).