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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Colour Studies of the Sun, Skies and ... > Skies Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Study of a Cloudy Sky c.1818

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of a Cloudy Sky’ c.1818
Folio 21 Recto:
Study of a Cloudy Sky c.1818
D12469
Turner Bequest CLVIII 21
Watercolour on white wove paper, 125 x 247 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Inscribed in red ink ‘21’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLVIII – 21’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
In this barely developed composition Turner has used blank areas of white paper and streaks of blue paint to suggest billowing clouds moving over an indeterminate location. It is possible that the lines of blue at the bottom of the composition are meant to signify a body of water.
See the sketchbook’s Introduction for general notes on possible locations and dating.
Verso:
Blank, save for some small blue spots, likely offset from folio 22 recto opposite (D12470).

Caitlin Doley
July 2024

How to cite

Caitlin Doley, ‘Study of a Cloudy Sky c.1818’, catalogue entry, July 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, October 2024, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/study-of-a-cloudy-sky-r1208893, accessed 22 November 2024.